


The iwi ‘ākau ‘ākau wedding

by Marine226



Category: Hawaii Five-0 (2010)
Genre: Accidental Marriage, Clueless Steve McGarrett, Established Relationship, F/M, First Kiss, First Time, Idiots in Love, M/M, Mild Crossover with NCIS: LA, Pining Danny Williams, Pre-Slash, Steve McGarrett Has Issues, Undercover as a Couple
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-05
Updated: 2020-10-16
Packaged: 2021-03-06 16:47:27
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 20
Words: 21,250
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26302156
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Marine226/pseuds/Marine226
Summary: It made a strange kind of sense that Steve and Danny would do it backwards, getting married before they'd even been on a date. But what started as a bit of harmless fun could leave even their friendship destroyed.
Relationships: Gabrielle Asano/Danny "Danno" Williams, Steve McGarrett/Catherine Rollins, Steve McGarrett/Danny "Danno" Williams
Comments: 76
Kudos: 299





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> So the plot bunny attacked me with this idea, and I just took it and ran. The idea was what if the boys were actually married. They always awkwardly shrug off the 'how long have you two been married?' question and never really address it. So I thought of how that would happen without the others knowing and thus this idea was born (even if it's not entirely plausible). 
> 
> It's set around season 4, time frames are a bit sketchy though.
> 
> Anyway, hope you like it!

Steve glanced at his passenger and noted the tenseness of the blonde’s shoulders. The man was tearing himself inside-out in his efforts to stay silent, that’s how pissed off he was. Danno looked across at him, meeting his eyes for a moment. 

Steve looked away and rolled his eyes. He knew he was going to regret it, but he took the bait and asked, “What?”

“What do you mean what? You know what! We have to tell them,” Danny responded.

Steve sighed, “No, Danny, we don’t. We have six months to go and then that’ll be the end of it. Nothing to tell anyone. We can laugh about it in the years to come.”

“And you think that in those six months, they won’t figure it out?!” 

“Daniel, it’s already been six months and they have no idea,” Steve responded in exasperation.

“Really?! Because I think that in the last six months, they have asked if we’re married far more often than they ever did before!” Danny exclaimed.

“And what? You think they’d even believe us if we told them the truth?” Steve asked, “We’ve been over this.”

“I’m just saying that they’re our team and this is a pretty big secret to keep from them,” Danny responded.

“And we’re gonna continue keeping it a secret from them,” Steve tried to say patiently, but he knew his tone was off. “They don’t need to know, Danny,” he added. 

“You don’t want them to know?”

“No!” Steve exclaimed, “That’s what I just said. Were you even listening? Or did you fall asleep with your eyes open again?”

“That’s funny,” Danny answered in a flat tone, “This is all your fault, you know.”

Steve didn’t respond immediately. He glanced at his passenger again, then returned his attention to the road. Sighing, he finally said, “Yeah, I know. I’m sorry.”

The truth was that it was his fault. Or at least partly. But how was he to know that the settlement had its own priest? Or that the backwater wedding ceremony was one that the Hawaiian Government officially recognised?

\----5-----0-----5-----0-----5-----0-----5-----0-----5-----0-----5-----0-----5-----0

_6 months ago…_

Steve and Danny rode on horse back to get to the small settlement in the mountains on the north east of the island. It was the only way to get there. They had only taken a rucksack each to bring some of their belongings. They didn’t expect the undercover assignment would take long.

“Tell me again why we couldn’t just go in and ask them?” Danny grouched.

The people in the settlement were incredibly distrustful of cops and they wouldn’t have been able to get anything from them if they had just rocked up and asked the questions they would normally ask. They had responded to a double homicide in the north shore the day before and had gotten a lead to the group in the hills by the evening. Charlie had found traces of a berry in the shoe print at the scene, that linked to a rare plant found only in this mountain range.

“We only need to find out who left the settlement during the time frame to kill Walker and Cora. I mean, they may not have even returned,” Steve reminded him.

“Sounds simple,” Danny answered, adjusting his position again.

Steve grinned at Danny’s discomfort, “You gotta sit further back in the saddle, man, you’re too far forward.”

“I know that!” Danny snapped, “Can’t you see I’m trying to find that special spot?”

Steve snorted and waited for Danny’s head to catch up with his mouth. He was rewarded with Danny rolling his eyes, “You know what I meant.”

“It’s not that hard to find,” Steve replied, sending Danny a grin when he glanced at him.

“Are we still talking about horse riding?” Danny asked.

Steve shrugged, “I mean, that’s what I was talking about.”

“You’re an animal,” Danny told him, then shook his head, “And why exactly did we need to be boyfriends for this particular assignment?”

“We’ve been over this, Danno,” Steve reminded him.

“I know, I just wanted to hear it again. I want to make sure that I wasn’t just imagining things.”

“You’ve imagined us being in a relationship?”

“Only in my nightmares,” Danny responded.

“It’s an all-male camp, Danny. The story’s more plausible if we’re a couple, then if we were two single dudes. We’d get made pretty quick,” Steve explained again, “Why, are you feeling homophobic today?”

“I’m not homophobic, Steven, I’m comfortable with my sexuality. What about you, huh?” Danny asked.

“Same,” Steve shrugged, then he gestured in front of him, “Should be just over this ridge.”

“After you, oh fearless leader,” Danny said, gesturing for Steve to precede him.

Steve grinned and went forward. He stopped when he got to the top of the ridge and looked at the small village below, “Looks like a pretty tight community.”

Danny joined him, “Looks cosy. Do you want to hold hands as we go down there or what?”

Steve looked at him and frowned, “Are you serious right now?”

“I’m always serious, babe, this is a serious matter,” Danny snarked.

Steve just shook his head and slowly moved down the escarpment. He dismounted when he got to the bottom and headed for the first hut. Before he reached it though, a man wearing jeans and a loose green shirt came out and met them.

“Aloha, I’m Steve Jones, this is my partner, Danny Black. We talked earlier?” Steve introduced them as he reached out his hand.

The man took his outstretched hand and shook it, “Yeah, I’m Blake. You made good time.” 

“Steve here jumped at the chance to get out of the big smoke,” Danny told him, “He’s like a kid in a candy store.”

Blake smiled at them, and turned around to a couple of guys who came out to greet them, “This is John and Andrew, they can take your horses to the stable. Come on, I’ll show you to your hut. You’re just staying with us for a week?”

They gave the reins of the horses to the two guys, then grabbed their rucksacks and followed Blake. “Yeah, I have uh, business associates arriving from Japan that I need to meet with. We’ve already delayed the meeting a hundred times,” Danny responded.

“Nice place you’ve got here, it’s just what we’d hoped for, right hunny?” Steve asked, turning to grin at Danny.

“Yeah babe, what better way to get back to nature,” Danny responded, with a fake smile. 

Blake showed them the small hut and left them to their devices after giving them timings for the meals. The hut just contained the one room, which was the bedroom. All the other facilities were down a narrow path. But it was the bed that Danny focussed on.

“Clearly, we didn’t think this through,” he said, gesturing at the queen size bed.

Steve chuckled at him as he took a few things out of his bag and set them aside, “Don’t worry, Danno, you can have the bed, I’ll take the floor.”

Danny grimaced as he looked at the floor, “Are you mad? You’ll get hypothermia or rabbies if you sleep there.”

“Fine, we’ll top and tail then,” Steve responded, then patted Danny’s ass on the way to the door, “Come on, let’s meet some people.”

“Top and tail? What are you, 12?” Danny muttered, but followed Steve out the door.


	2. Chapter 2

_Still 6 months ago...._

The rest of the afternoon passed quickly. Steve and Danny met most of the inhabitants of the camp and dismissed them as suspects. They surreptitiously questioned the inhabitants to find out if anyone had left the camp recently, but just hit dead ends.

Then at dinner, Steve decided to have a bit of fun with this assignment. Because what could possibly go wrong?

Kai and Nate, two of the lovely camps inhabitants, had asked about Steve and Danny’s relationship. So, Steve had regaled them with a highly censored and tailored edition of how they’d met and their relationship had grown. Then Kai had asked if they’d thought about getting married.

“Yeah sure, of course we have,” Steve replied, sending a grin at Danny, then he upped the stakes, “I mean, I guess you could say we’re already engaged, we just… I don’t know, the timing never seems right. Between Danny’s growing business and my work, we just never seem to have any time.”

“What’re you talking about, babe?” Danny asked, turning his attention from the conversation next to him.

“Steve was just telling us that you’re engaged,” Nate responded, wrapping his arm around Kai.

“Oh, you uh, you thought you’d tell them that, sweet cheeks?” Danny asked, forcing a smile.

Steve’s grin grew wider, “Yeah, I was just saying that we’ve been trying to find the right time, you know, in between our busy schedules.”

“Tell us about the proposal, who proposed to who?” Nate asked.

“And how?” Kai added.

Steve and Danny exchanged glances and Steve knew the game was on. He quickly jumped in before Danny did, “Well, I took Danny to a nice Italian restaurant and before dessert arrived, I got down on one-knee – ”

“Babe, stop, you’re embarrassing yourself, that isn’t what happened,” Danny interrupted, then he turned to Nate and Kai and explained, “That’s what should have happened, we’ve discussed this at length. Do you want to tell them what really happened, babe?”

“No, no, this is your story, Danno,” Steve responded, with a smile. He knew he’d regret it, but he wanted to see how Danny thought he’d pop the question.

Danny grinned, “Well, we were sitting down by the beach, having a beer. We were talking about a couple of friends who were getting married, then Steve turns to me and says ‘well, how about it?’”

“How about it? That’s what he said?” Kai exclaimed, breaking down into laughter.

Danny smiled back at them and nodded, “Yeah, that’s what he said. I asked him what he meant and he asked if we should get married.”

Steve snorted and shook his head. But he could hardly argue with the story, if he did, there was a chance they’d blow their cover. So he grinned and said, “Well what can I say? When you love a guy, and you know he loves you, do you really need to go the extra mile?”

“Yes!!!” Kai and Danny exclaimed together, then grinned at each other.

Then Danny added, “That’s what I’ve been trying to tell you all this time, Steven! I mean, did you think that maybe that’s why we haven’t had the time to plan the wedding?”

Steve raised his eyebrows, he could hear the challenge in those words, “Are you saying that you haven’t been taking it seriously and have been deliberately delaying this engagement, because you didn’t get the frills?”

“Maybe,” Danny hedged.

“But you still agree that we should just have a small wedding, right? Just us and a couple of friends? I don’t to have your whole family there,” Steve asked.

“After the first one, a small wedding is fine,” Danny responded.

“Huh,” Steve replied, the wheels in his head turning, “Okay.”

\----5-----0-----5-----0-----5-----0-----5-----0-----5-----0-----5-----0-----5-----0

Danny stripped down to his boxers and slipped between the sheets. He watched as Steve futilely tried to get reception on his phone.

“So, what was that about?” Danny finally asked.

Steve shrugged, “Thought I’d spice things up a bit, make it a bit more realistic. You got any signal?”

Danny shook his head, “No, and don’t change the topic.”

Steve chucked his phone on the bedside table and turned to his partner, “What, you didn’t have fun out there?”

“Playing house with you?” Danny asked, “Of course I did. But babe, I do that everyday. I just wanna know what brought it on.”

Steve rolled his eyes and got into bed. He turned off the light and lay on his back, “Just having a bit of fun, Danno, just relax, okay? I didn’t get anywhere with the questioning, looks like we’ll be here a while longer.”

Danny was silent for a while, then he felt the guy nodding. “Okay.”

Danny turned over and was soon asleep. But Steve continued staring at the ceiling and considered Danny’s question. The truth was though, that he didn’t really know the answer. He’d just gotten caught up in the story and he’d been having fun, deliberately pressing Danny’s buttons. It was no different to their normal banter, wasn't it?

It took a long time for Steve to finally stop the turning of ideas through his head, and it took even longer before he could finally get to sleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you liked it! Let me know what you thought!
> 
> Thanks again to Phoebe!


	3. Chapter 3

_6 months ago. Morning of the 2nd day at the camp..._

Danny woke the following morning to find Steve was already up and had left the room. He felt a bit disappointed, but he reminded himself that they had a job to do. 

Then Steve surprised him by softly knocking and coming in with two coffees. He smiled when he saw Danny, “Morning, Danno.”

“Hey babe, what’s this?” Danny asked, sitting up in bed.

“Uh, I mean, most people call this coffee,” Steve replied, handing him one of the cups.

“What, no breakfast in bed?”

“They were fresh outta malasadas,” Steve said with a grin.

Danny snorted, then patted the bed beside him, “Come here, take a seat. So what’s the plan for today?”

Steve did as he was asked and sipped at his coffee. Then he glanced at Danny, “How do you feel about a hike? There’s a path to our north, takes about half an hour to get to the summit. We’ll at least get signal up there, check in with the team.”

Danny shook his head, “You and your outdoorsyness. Okay, I’m game.” 

They continued chatting for a while, then quickly grabbed a bite to eat in the communal kitchen, before heading up the mountain. The hike was exhilarating, reminding Steve of the first time he’d taken Danny for a hike. He just hoped this time had a better ending.

When they got to the top, they spent a moment just taking in the view. It was stunning. Rolling green hills/mountains on all sides, with the sea in the distance.

“Wow,” Danny uttered.

“Yeah, it’s something,” Steve replied.

Danny sighed and got out his phone, “You got signal?”

Steve took out his phone and looked at the bars, but Danny beat him to it. “Yeah, four whole bars,” he answered.

But Danny shhh’d him and Steve saw that Danny had already dialled. Danny put the phone on speaker, and they checked in with the team. They didn’t have anything new to tell them and asked about what the camp was like. Danny and Steve filled them in and told them that they were still trying to find their mark.

They said their goodbyes and Danny hung up. He looked at Steve as he played with the phone, “Still not a lot to go on.”

“Guess we’d better get back and talk to the guys we haven’t got to yet,” Steve replied.

“Is it so much to ask to get something that would narrow down the list?” Danny asked, waving his hands around as he talked, “I mean, something like a shoe size and a stray hair so we know what colour hair he has. Anything to make this just a bit easier.”

“There isn’t that many people here, Danny, we should be done canvassing by the end of the day,” Steve responded.

“You said that yesterday,” Danny replied, gesturing with his arms again, but this time his phone slipped out of his grasp and fell to the ground. Thankfully, it wasn’t anywhere near the cliff, so it didn’t fall far.

“Wouldya calm down, Danny?” Steve said, bending down to pick up the phone. He knelt to pick up the battery and the cover, putting it together whilst he stayed there, “What’s your hurry getting out of here, anyway?”

“Did you hear something?” Danny asked, looking behind Steve.

Steve shook his head and turned the phone on. Fortunately, the phone was fine, except for a small crack on the front of the screen. He passed it up to Danny, saying his name to get his attention.

Their eyes met as Danny took the phone, and Steve was suddenly aware that he was kneeling in front of his partner. Danny must’ve had the same thought because he held out his hand to help Steve up.

“Mahalo, Danno,” Steve said.

Then they heard whistling and catcalls from the trail behind Steve, making Steve jump and reach for the weapon that wasn’t on his hip. But he relaxed when he saw Kai and Nate walk into the clearing.

“Sorry guy, I couldn’t hold him back,” Nate apologised to them.

“What did you say?” Kai asked Danny.

Danny frowned and looked between the two, before he cottoned on to what they thought they’d interrupted, “Oh, no, we weren’t… we didn’t…” then apparently he thought better of it, “I mean, I said yes. Of course.”

Steve looked back at Danny with a surprised expression on his face, then he grinned. Danny had just upped the stakes.

Kai squeeled and ran to Danny to give him a hug, “Sorry brah, I know we just met, but that’s just so exciting!”

Danny smiled, “Yeah, it’s still just registering myself.”

Nate shook Steve’s hand and congratulated him. They turned and watched the other two men get carried away over the news. Then Kai was getting excited all over again, “You could get married today! You said you only wanted a small ceremony, right? The priest arrived yesterday; he doesn’t leave until tomorrow!”

“Oh, I don’t think I could do the whole ‘Roman Catholic’ thing again,” Danny replied, shaking his head, “We don’t even have rings.”

“Cain doesn’t do Catholic weddings, he does iwi ‘ākau ‘ākau weddings,” Kai answered, his smile getting larger, “And you don’t need rings.”

“What? What is iwi – ” Danny started.

“North east mountain tribe,” Steve translated.

“You came here to get back to nature, right? I mean, the man has a point,” Nate commented, “Take some time to think about it, Steve. Come on, Kai, let’s give these two some space.”

Steve watched the two men disappear back down the path, before turning back to Danny. He grinned widely at him and put his hands on Danny’s shoulders, “So uh, you said ‘yes’, _fiancée_.”

“Yeah, don’t let it go to your head. And it doesn’t mean you can get handsy with me,” Danny responded, brushing his hands away, but his smile said that he was as amused by the whole situation as Steve was.

Steve chuckled, “So when and where do you want to get married, fiancée? Huh? Do you want a big wedding or a small one?”

Danny rolled his eyes, but answered, “Well, I like the idea of an island wedding, babe. Why don’t we see what this Cain character has to say about it.”

“You’re thinking about it?” Steve asked, as he started heading back towards the path.

“It’s not as though it’s a real wedding, Steve. And you know, even if it was, we’re on an undercover op, we could get it annulled pretty easily. We wouldn’t even be using our real names,” Danny responded, “Unless you don’t want to marry me? Did you even mean it when you proposed?”

Steve snorted, but focussed on the path as he slipped on loose rocks, “Watch your footing here, Danno.”

“Got it, thanks babe.”

“Let’s see if we can’t find our killer, huh?” Steve asked, trying to get them back on track. They were here to do a job, after all.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you liked it! Let me know what you thought!
> 
> Thanks again to Phoebe!


	4. Chapter 4

_Still 6 months ago. 2nd day at the camp..._

It was early afternoon when Steve and Danny finally stopped for lunch. They had managed to talk to everyone, but nobody stood out. There hadn’t been any movement in the small settlement over the last couple of days, except for Steve and Danny’s arrival. 

They grabbed some food and went back to their hut to get some privacy, whilst they debriefed. Danny sat on the bed, whilst Steve sat on the floor, with his back against the wall.

“So, what now, babe?” Danny asked.

Steve sighed and took a big mouthful of his sandwich, then said around his food, “We’re not getting the full story here. These people know something, they’re just not sharing it.”

Danny grimaced, “Didn’t your mother tell you not to talk when you’ve got something in your mouth? You’re an animal. Looks like we’re staying here a bit longer then.”

Steve grinned at him, then took another big mouthful of his sandwich. Danny just rolled his eyes at him. “So, what about the rest of today?” Danny asked.

“All we can do is try to earn their trust,” Steve responded, “One of the guys, Callum, talked about checking out the waterfall.”

“Callum? He’s the guy that arrived three weeks ago, right?” Danny asked.

Steve nodded, “Did you see how he clammed up when we started asking questions?”

“Maybe he’s just shy,” Danny replied.

Steve gave Danny a look, silently asking if he really believed that. But a knock at the door put an end to any further discussion. Danny got up and answered the door, “Hi.”

“Aloha, I’m Cain. You’re our new arrivals; Steve and Danny?” the guy at the door asked, “Hope I’m not interrupting?”

Steve leant forward to get a better look at the guy, whilst Danny stepped back into the room. “Yeah, we are. And no, you’re not, we were just having a bite. Come on in.”

“Mahalo,” Cain said, coming into the small hut, “How are you finding the experience so far?”

“It’s nice, good to get back to our roots,” Steve responded, “Don’t you think, Danny?”

“Yeah, makes me totally forget about all the work I’ll have when I go back,” Danny griped, sitting back down on the edge of the bed.

“You’ll have to excuse Danny, padre, he has trouble relaxing sometimes,” Steve said, with a grin.

Cain chuckled, “It’s quite alright. Now, I have to admit, I have an ulterior motive for coming to speak with you this afternoon.”

“Kai ratted us out?” Steve asked.

Cain smiled and nodded at them, “Yes, he did. He was terribly excited over the prospect of a wedding. So I decided to see if you’ve thought about it some more. I would be happy to marry you if that’s what you want.”

Danny and Steve exchanged glances, and Steve had a feeling he knew what Danny was thinking. Before the other man could say anything, Steve asked, “What, exactly, is involved?”

“First, there is a cleansing ceremony down at the waterfall, then you dress and come back up to the gathering area. I say a few words, then you place lei’s over one another’s heads. The ceremony finishes when the tattoos are complete,” Cain explained.

“Uh, tattoos?” Danny asked.

“Yes. You clasp each other’s left hand and a vine is wrapped around your wrists whilst my staff tattoos a ring around your wrists. It’s what will connect you,” Cain responded, “Once the ceremony is complete, the festivities begin.”

“Is it a permanent tattoo?” Danny asked.

“Tattoos aren’t painful, Danny. It just feels like scratching sunburn,” Steve told him.

“I know, I have one,” Danny responded, then turned to Cain with a smile, “I’m in.”

And that’s when Steve realised he was fucked. There was no way he could back out now, not when he was the one to ‘propose’ to Danny.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just a shorty today, but hopefully a goodie.
> 
> Hope you liked it! Let me know what you thought!
> 
> Thanks again to Phoebe!


	5. Chapter 5

_Four months ago…_

Steve laughed at Kono’s antics and finished off his beer. The team were at Rum Fire, letting off some steam after their most recent case.

“That’s not how I remember it,” Chin jumped in, then began regaling them with the story according to him.

Steve grinned and clinked his bottle with Danny’s to get his attention, as he stood up, “Same again?”

Danny shook his head and got to his feet, “No, no I’m switching to rum. I’ll come with you.”

“Another round?” Steve asked the rest of the table.

Kono hooted in delight, before ordering something complicated from the cocktail menu. Chin and Lou jumped in with their orders, whilst Danny finished his beer. Then Steve and Danny went to the bar. 

“Did you bring your wallet?” Danny asked as he leant against the bar.

“That’s funny, Danny. Yes, I did,” Steve responded as he tried to get the attention of one of the bar tenders. 

“Well uh, is there anything in it?” Danny asked, studying his face.

Steve snorted, “Yeah, buddy.”

“I’m just saying, because uh, you never order a whole round. And never twice in a row, what’s the matter with you? Are you sick?”

Steve chuckled, “I’m fine, Danno. What do you want?”

“Oh, so many things. But I’ll settle for a Tiki Torch,” Danny told him, after briefly consulting the drinks menu.

“You uh, you know that has pineapple in it, right?” Steve asked.

“Ew gross, what are you trying to do? Huh? Poison me?” he asked, “Well, what do you suggest?”

“I think you’d like a Lava Flow, nice and uh… sweet,” Steve responded, his gaze dropping to Danny’s lips. He couldn’t help but remember what it felt like to kiss them, but that was another time, another place. He deliberately turned back to the bar again.

“A Lava Flow,” Danny said huskily, then cleared his throat, “Well, I’m going to take a leak, surprise me.”

Steve watched him go, his eyes tracking Danny ass as he moved. When he turned back, he found the bar tender had arrived. The woman smiled at him, “You two make a cute couple, how long have you been married?”

“Oh uh, we’re not married,” Steve replied.

The woman shook her head and gestured to his wrist, “Well, that suggests something different. I’m a part-time tattoo artist.”

“You know what this design is?” Steve asked, looking again at the intricate design that went around his wrist.

“Of course, you won’t find a tattoo artist on this island who doesn’t. Legally, we’re not allowed to alter the design at all,” she answered, “Now, what can I get for you, darl?”

*********************************

Steve walked into Odell’s barber shop, grinning when he saw the other man. 

“Aloha Steve,” Odell said as he saw him, grasping his hand and pulling him into a hug, “Haven’t seen you in a while, what’s been going on?”

“Aloha, Odell,” Steve responded, “Yeah, we’ve had a couple of busy months at five-0.”

“Never too much to get a haircut, come on, sit down, let me see if I can clear up this mess,” Odell responded.

Steve laughed, “My hair’s fine, man. I wouldn’t say no to a close shave though.”

“Done,” Odell said, pulling out one of the chairs so he could sit down, “What’s going on with that ink, brah? You didn’t say anything about getting married?”

Steve sighed as he sat down, “That’s actually the reason I came here. Danny and I went undercover a couple of months ago and we uh, we kind of accidentally got married – ”

“How did you accidentally get married?” Odell interrupted, with a laugh.

“Oh, I’m happy to hear you find this funny, man. We were daring one another, trying to see who would back out first… Anyway, we thought it was just an island thing, specific to the tribe,” Steve explained.

“Looks like the work of the iwi ‘ākau ‘ākau, right?” Odell asked, when Steve nodded, he continued, “Yeah, sorry to tell you, buddy, but the Hawaiian Government legally recognises the iwi ‘ākau ‘ākau weddings as binding.”

“We were undercover though, surely we can get it annulled or something, right?”

“Wrong. It’s not as though they took your names, real or fake. And were you forced to marry each other? Did you fear for your lives?” Odell asked, but the man already knew the answers.

“Okay, so what do we do about it? How do we… I mean, do we get divorced?” Steve asked, talking carefully as Odell lathered up his face with shaving cream.

“If that’s what you want to do, yeah,” Odell responded, as he started shaving, “Their procedures for getting a divorce are similar to ours, you know, with the separation for 12 months. Then you get the tattoo removed, but I don’t think you’ll like how.”

“What do you mean?” 

“The priest that married you is the only one allowed to remove the ink. But you wanted a tribal wedding, you get a tribal divorce too,” Odell answered.

“What do they do? Burn us at the stake?” Steve asked, frowning at his friend.

“No, but they do burn the tattoo off,” Odell explained, then tapped the inside of Steve’s wrist, “Maybe you should have a good think about if that’s what you want. Talk it over with Danny.”

“What are you trying to say, Odell?” Steve asked.

Odell stopped shaving Steve’s face and wiped the blade against the towel on his shoulder, then met Steve’s eyes, “I think you know what I’m saying, Steven.”

The two men lapsed into silence and Odell continued the shave. Then when it bordered on uncomfortable, Odell added, “Talk to your husband.”

“You’re enjoying this, aren’t you?” Steve asked, eying his friend. 

Odell smiled at him, “Yeah, just a little.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you liked it! Let me know what you thought!
> 
> Thanks again to Phoebe!


	6. Chapter 6

_Six months ago. Last day on the mountain…_

Steve and Danny said their goodbyes and started making the slow journey back to civilisation. But something stopped Steve, he paused as he went to mount his horse. 

“Uh, what’s the matter, babe? This is the point that we go home with our tails between our legs because in a week, we couldn’t find our murderer,” Danny told him.

“I don’t think that’s necessary,” Steve told him, with a frown, “Did we ever talk to the padre or his helpers?”

“You mean the priest? Cain and the guys?” Danny clarified, then understanding dawned on him, “They came and went as they wanted. Well, it wasn’t Cain himself, he has small feet. Chin said the murderer wore size 11s.”

“Yeah, but the guy who tattoo’d my wrist had big feet – Andre, I think,” Steve responded.

“And here I thought that you only had eyes for me that day,” Danny said with a chuckle.

Steve ignored the comment, quickly handing the reins to Danny, before running back down to the camp. Cain smiled as he approached, “We just can’t get rid of you, can we?”

“No. Hey, one of your helpers, Andre, did he come up here today?” Steve asked.

Cain shook his head, “He had a family emergency, so stayed home.”

“What’s his surname and address?” 

Cain frowned at him, “I’m afraid I can’t tell you that. I hope you understand.”

“Cain, I’m a cop. Andre killed two people a week ago,” Steve explained, “I need you to tell me where he is.”

After that, it was surprisingly easy. Cain told him Andre’s address and someone gave him a satellite phone. He had no idea how or why they had one, but he supposed it made a bizarre kind of sense. He called Lou and passed on the details. Then he said his goodbye’s again, after thanking them, then hiked back up to where Danny was impatiently waiting. 

He briefed Danny, then mounted the horse and they began riding down. About half way down, they both got cell reception again. Danny read a text, then grunted.

“What?” Steve asked, reading through his own texts.

“Gabby’s back,” Danny announced, “She wants to catch up tonight for dinner to talk things over.”

“Sounds nice,” Steve remarked, “You should go. I’m sure you’ll love being pampered for the evening.”

Danny frowned at him, “Are we gonna talk about this, Steve? You said we’d play this as it comes, well this is it coming. What’re we gonna do?”

“Danny, that was before your girlfriend came back,” Steve responded.

“Babe, she stopped being my girlfriend when she left me. I want to know where we go from here, Gabby aside.”

Steve shrugged, and held up his phone so Danny could see the picture. Catherine had sent a picture of O’ahu – it was only a blip of land on the picture, surrounded by sea, but the message was clear. “Well, Catherine thinks she’ll get into port by mid-afternoon.”

Danny opened his mouth to say something, but clearly thought better of it. A few minutes passed before he finally said, “Okay.”

*********************************

_Four months ago…._

“We might have a problem, Danny,” Steve told his partner as he perched himself on the edge of Danny’s desk.

“Oh? And what is that? You’re uh, computer stopped working so you can’t do the rest of your paperwork?” Danny asked, twirling a pen as he looked at Steve.

“Why? You volunteering to do it?” Steve asked.

“Not when I know how far behind you are, which is funny because the ammo orders are always in early. Can you explain that?” Danny asked, throwing the pen onto the table.

“It’s on a repeated delivery cycle, Danny, it’s not that hard to set up,” Steve responded, then he decided to come out with it. “Danny, I’ve done some asking around. According to the state of Hawaii, we are legally married.”

“I’m sorry, what? What are you talking about? Did you hit your head again?” Danny asked, looking at him as though he was about to collapse.

Steve explained what he’d found out, watching as Danny’s face fell. His face went white when Steve mentioned how the divorce would be finalised.

“No, I’m not doing that,” Danny finally said, “I’m not letting someone brand me.”

“You already did,” Steve responded, “And what’s the alternative, huh? Don’t you want to get married to someone you love?”

“I don’t need a piece of paper to tell me who I love, Steven. I’ve been there, done that, got the t-shirt. I don’t need to do it again,” Danny replied.

“Does Gabby feel the same way?”

“You know what I think this is about? Catherine,” Danny stated, then stood up and put his hands in his pockets. Then he took them out again to gesture as he spoke, “The way I see it, this mark here? That is something I can live with. I can live with some of the population here, thinking, knowing even, that I’m married. But I will not – _not_ , Steven – have someone put a burning hot poker stick against my skin to burn it off and have a scar there forever instead.

“And I know that if and when I explain this situation to someone who wants to spend the rest of their life with me, that they’ll feel the same way. Because they wouldn’t ask me to go through that just so we can get a piece of paper. You don’t ask someone you love to do that. So, if you don’t think that Catherine would value you enough to do the same, if you don’t think she’d stick around without a ring, and are happy enough to disfigure yourself, just so you can pop the question, go right ahead! But I don’t want to get involved. You hear me, Steven? Leave me outta this.”

“Danny – ”

“No, Steven!” Danny exclaimed, “The fact that you would even ask me to do this…”

Steve got off the desk and responded, “We didn’t go there to get married, Daniel! How can you stand there and say you’re okay with this?!”

“Do you even remember what we had there? If you did, you wouldn’t ask me to do it,” Danny responded, then stormed out of his office, leaving Steve standing there, alone and confused.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you liked it! Let me know what you thought!
> 
> Thanks again to Phoebe!


	7. Chapter 7

3 and a half months ago... 

_Steve laughed and finished the small blue shot that had been placed in front of him. But as soon as he put it down, someone topped it up again. Nate smiled at him and filled up his own glass. Steve continued chuckling as he glanced at his partner, Danny was falling asleep at the table, having indulged too early, too fast._

_Steve stumbled to his feet, “Okay, bed time.”_

_A chorus of catcalls and wolf whistles followed his statement, but Steve only had eyes for one person. He helped Danny up, then swept him off his feet and carried him to their hut. He stumbled a bit as he got in the door, but managed to get to the bed okay and place Danny there. But Danny didn’t let him leave, instead he pulled him closer and Steve fell on top of him._

_Danny chuckled as Steve got to his hands and knees, effectively straddling the blonde. “You’re gorgeous,” Steve whispered._

_“You’re not so bad looking yourself,” Danny replied, looking wide-awake and sober._

_On a whim, Steve leant down again and softly captured Danny’s lips. The feel of his lips was amazing and Steve moaned._

“Steve? Are you still awake?” Catherine’s voice woke him out of the light sleep he’d fallen into.

Steve opened his eyes and found that he was still sitting, or rather, nearly lying, on the couch next to Catherine. “Yeah, yeah, I’m awake,” he lied, then realised with disappointment that they weren’t even half-way through _The Notebook_.

“Really? Because it really looked like you’d just fallen asleep,” Catherine asked, turning to look at him.

Steve smiled and wrapped his arm around her, pulling her close, “No, I was just watching the back of my eyelids.”

Catherine grinned, “Find anything interesting?”

“Well it was more interesting than this,” Steve replied, grinning back at her.

“I could tell, you were moaning, Steve. What’s her name, hmm?” Catherine asked, her tone was neutral, but he knew what she was really asking.

Steve pressed a kiss against Catherine’s head, “I think you know.”

Catherine pressed pause on the stupid movie and turned back to him, “Well, I think there’s something we can do about that.”

“Oh? What would that be?” Steve asked, grinning widely as she straddled him and started kissing him.

Steve wrapped his arms around her and flipped their positions so he was on top. He leant down to capture her mouth, but couldn’t help thinking about how different it was to kissing Danny. He shook the thoughts away and focussed on the girl of his dreams.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry guys, just a short one today, I need to rework the next chapter...
> 
> Hope you liked it! Let me know what you thought!
> 
> Thanks again to Phoebe!


	8. Chapter 8

_3 months ago…_

Steve suppressed a sigh as he walked through the double doors at HQ and looked around the office. Chin and Kono were standing at the control table and discussing something on the screen.

“Morning, watchya got?” he asked as he joined them.

“Duke asked us to look over a cold case, so we’re going over it now,” Chin responded, “Do you want us to brief you?”

“Not yet. I’ve gotta send some reports to the Governor,” Steve replied.

“How’d the meeting go, boss?” Kono asked.

“About as well as you’d expect,” Steve responded, then looked around the office again, “Where’s Danny?”

Kono and Chin exchanged glances, before Chin responded, “He’s taking a personal day today, didn’t he tell you?”

Steve frowned and put his hands on his hips, “No, he didn’t. Did he say why?”

“He did,” Chin replied, then clapped him on the shoulder, “You should talk to him, brah.”

Steve’s frown intensified, he hated it when his team kept things from him. But he knew he wouldn’t get anything more from Chin or Kono. No, he needed to talk to Danny. And Danny should have let him know what was going on. “Is he okay?” Steve asked.

“He will be,” Kono answered, mysteriously.

Steve sighed and pulled out his phone as he walked into his office. He pressed speed dial #1 and waited for Danny to pick up. But the phone rang out. Steve glared at the phone as if it had personally offended him, but left a short message, “What is the good of having a phone, Daniel, if you don’t answer it? Call me.”

As soon as he hung up though, he redialled the number. But again, it rang out and went to voicemail. He hung up before the beep and logged on to his computer. He lost himself in his emails, until eventually his phone rang.

A glance at the screen showed that it was Danny. He picked up the offending phone and immediately asked, “Where are you?”

“Good morning to you too, Steven. And yeah, I’m okay, thanks for asking. How are you?” Danny answered.

“Worried about you! That’s how I am, that’s what happens when I expect you at work, but you never turn up,” Steve snapped, then pinched the bridge of his nose as he felt a headache building.

Silence greeted his outburst, but he was saved from apologising when Danny finally spoke, “I told Chin I wasn’t coming in, didn’t he pass it onto you?”

“He shouldn’t have to, Danny. That’s your job,” Steve replied, feeling exhausted already. Lately, his interactions with Danny had become harder and left him feeling tired, but he didn’t know why. “Is it so hard to keep me in the loop? What’s going on with you?” he added, he really was feeling genuinely worried about his friend.

“You really wanna know?”

“I wouldn’t ask if I didn’t,” Steve responded, feeling more concerned than he was before.

Danny sighed, making Steve’s stomach did a backflip. He should have driven out to Danny’s place; this conversation should have taken place in person. “Gabby and I split up,” Danny admitted quietly, “Well, I mean, she broke up with me.”

****************************

Danny knew he shouldn’t have returned Steve’s call. He knew it would only make himself upset, but it would be worse if he’d ignored the man. 

It was like how he knew it was a bad idea to restart his relationship with Gabby after Steve had made it clear that there wouldn’t be an ‘us’. But it hadn’t been fair to her and he’d been compelled to tell her.

He heard Steve sigh over the phone, “I’m sorry, man, that’s… that’s rough. I know you cared for her a lot.”

“Yeah. I uh, I should’ve seen it coming though, I mean, it was my fault,” Danny rambled.

“What do you mean it was your fault? Danny?” Steve asked. He sounded like he was running, “What are you talking about?” 

“I told her, Steve. I had to tell her. I couldn’t live a lie and she deserved to know,” Danny responded, as he lay down on the couch and pulled the blanket over the top of him.

“Know what?” Steve asked.

“That I’m married to you,” Danny replied, with a choked off chuckle. The look of Gabby’s face would have been comical if the situation hadn’t been so serious. Then he sniffed and added, “God, what’s wrong with me? As if my life wasn’t already complicated.”

“I’ll be there in 20, Danny, don’t do anything stupid,” Steve told him.

“Like what, Steven? Huh? Like telling my girlfriend that I’m a married man? Or that the person I’m married to is none other than my partner at work, who my girlfriend already thinks takes up too much of my time?” Danny asked.

“She said that?” Steve asked, then there were clear sounds of a car engine, clearly he was on his way. But Danny shouldn’t have thought Steve would do any less. 

Steve kept Danny talking as he drove there; it was usually something that would be easy, but Danny didn’t seem overly talkative today. Today it was like pulling teeth. 

The knock on the door signalled Steve’s arrival, but he didn’t bother waiting for a reply as he made his way into the house. “Danny!”

“Over here, babe,” Danny murmured from under his blanket.

Then the moron chuckled when he saw him, as though this situation was amusing to him. “Sorry man, I didn’t mean to laugh – ”

“Is this funny to you?” Danny interrupted, he wanted to tell him to piss off. But another part of him – a big part of him – wanted the big oaf to stay and comfort him. 

“No, no it isn’t,” Steve responded, failing to suppress his grin, “But I love what you’ve done to the place, Danno, I really do. Can I, uh, open some windows?”

Danny raised himself up onto his elbow and nodded, “You didn’t have to come here, you know.”

“Yeah, I did,” Steve replied, going around the house to open the windows and let some air in, “You wanna coffee or something?”

Danny flopped back down and put his arm over his face, “No, I just wanna lay here.”

Steve stood in him, looking awkward. It was laughable that the guy had made it this far in life being so socially and emotionally retarded. He made a few aborted gestures, then settled with, “What about a beer?”

Danny scrunched up his face, frowning at him, “What’s the matter with you? It’s not even midday!”

“Hasn’t stopped us before,” Steve shrugged, then he sat on the couch, manoeuvring around Danny.

“What are you doing?” Danny asked, shifting so Steve could sit on the couch, instead of his head. “And what do you mean ‘us’?”

Steve settled into the seat, putting his arm across the back of the couch, “I’m not going anywhere, Danny.”

“I really want to be alone, Steven,” Danny told him, “You’re the cause of all this.”

“You’re the one that felt the need to tell her,” Steve couldn’t help but point out, “And it takes two to tango, Danny.”

“You’re not helping,” Danny responded, then finally lowered his head onto Steve’s lap, “You can stay if you don’t say anything.”

Steve smiled and took the remote off the back of the couch, then found something mindless to put on the TV. As they watched the show on TV, Danny felt Steve begin to gently card his fingers through his hair. Danny leant into his touch; he’d missed this. Apparently, Steve had too, if the way he sighed was any indication.

Steve kissed the top of Danny’s head and it made Danny think about the last time they’d been in this position. It had been the night before he and Steve had left the settlement. They hadn’t gotten any closer to finding the murderer, so they’d stayed for the week that they’d pencilled in, hoping that someone would say something that would point out where to look.

It had been one of the best weeks of Danny’s life. But he’d gotten to know Steve in a whole different way, a way that he’d never thought he’d be able to have with him, and it had been amazing.

_Steve was sitting up in bed, leaning against the pillows, whilst Danny was laid out beside him, with his head in Steve’s lap. They were both only clad in their boxers, having stripped down when they got back to the hut after dinner. It was a warm night and the extra layers had been stifling._

_They had been content to just sit/lay there, soaking up the good company. Danny gently rubbed circles on Steve’s hip, making the man let out a happy sound. Steve was running his hand through Danny’s hair and it felt amazing. He didn’t want this moment to end._

_“What do we do tomorrow, babe?” Danny murmured. It wasn’t the first time he’d thought about it, but they had to decide on a course of action before they left the camp._

_Steve raised his head, he continuing to card his fingers through Danny’s hair as he considered the question. “I don’t know, Danno,” he finally answered._

_Danny raised his head to look at the other man, “What do you want to do?”_

_Steve shook his head, “Tomorrow? I don’t know. But I know what I want to do tonight.”_

_Danny smiled, “Yeah? Am I going to like it?”_

_Steve leant down to kiss Danny’s lips, pulling him up a bit as Steve scooted down on the bed. When they parted, Steve breathlessly answered him, “I want you to fuck me.”_

Danny breathed out heavily, drawing his thoughts away from where they’d gone. Just because they’d become close on the mountain, didn’t mean they could again. It wasn’t appropriate to think about his partner that way anymore… Or at least, not so much when they were in the same room.

He looked up at Steve and noticed the faraway look in his eyes, “What are you thinking about, babe?” Danny asked softly.

Steve’s hand paused in Danny’s hair, “Our last night on the mountain.”

“Me too,” Danny murmured in surprise.

Steve blinked in confusion and looked down at Danny. Their eyes met and they both moved at the same time, leaning into one another as their mouths met. Steve pushed his tongue into Danny’s mouth, making him moan. 

Danny crawled up Steve’s body and pressed them together. Steve groaned as Danny kissed a trail down Steve’s neck. He ran his hands up the back of Danny’s t-shirt, then pushed his hands down Danny’s pants to grasp the ass he’d gotten to know so well. 

Danny gasped and his hips jerked forward, pressing his crutch against Steve’s. He liked the feel, so he did it again. 

“Danny,” Steve moaned, moving to hands to Danny’s hips.

Danny slid his hands underneath Steve’s shirt as he captured Steve’s mouth again. Steve gasped into Danny’s mouth as the other man tweaked his nipple. Danny still found it amazing how sensitive Steve’s body was, it was like the man had never let anyone really touch him before.

“Danny,” Steve said breathlessly, when Danny stopped for air, “Wait.”

“Hmm?” Danny asked in confusion.

“Danny, we can’t do this,” Steve responded.

“What are you talking about?” Danny asked, hovering above him.

“Catherine,” Steve replied, then sighed regretfully.

Danny frowned and slowly sat down beside him, “I thought… I thought you two were on another break?”

“We were,” Steve confirmed, removing his hands from Danny’s body, “She came back yesterday, said she’s staying this time.”

“She said that last time,” Danny responded, propping his head up on his hand. He wanted to get angry at him, but the big lug still thought he was in love with her. It broke Danny’s heart because it was clear to him that Catherine didn’t feel the same way. 

“I know.”

“And the time before that,” Danny pressed.

“I know, Danny.”

Danny stood up and shook his head at the ceiling, “You should go, Steven.”

“Danny…” Steve tried as he stood up. He looked lost for a moment, then finally said, “I’m sorry.”

Danny finally looked at him again, then nodded, “I know. But Steve, you’ve gotta choose. You need to decide what you want, and uh, I don’t think you know the answer to that question, so you need to have a good think and figure it out. Because this isn’t something that’s just gonna go away. When you figure it out, let me know, okay?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you liked it! Let me know what you thought!
> 
> Thanks again to Phoebe!


	9. Chapter 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So yes, sorry about the flicking of time backwards and forwards, but I felt that it made more sense to write it this way, instead of what happened on the mountain, then 1 month later, and then another month later... The story is generally going forward in time, with occasional glances back to the time on the mountain. We don't catch up with the 'present' until the last few chapters. Hope that makes sense.
> 
> And yeah, I know McDanno are a bit both a bit emotionally retarded in this fic, but it was the only way to make this idea work. Particuarly in a few chapters time. I'm totally not going to apologise for that though :P

_6 months ago: The night of the wedding…_

Danny chuckled as Steve got to his hands and knees, effectively straddling the blonde. “You’re gorgeous,” Steve whispered. 

“You’re not so bad looking yourself,” Danny replied, looking wide-awake.

On a whim, Steve leant down again and softly captured Danny’s lips. The feel of his lips was amazing and Steve moaned. 

Abruptly, he realised what he was doing and tried to pull back, but Danny caught him and held him there. “S’okay, babe, it’s fine, okay? I’m not complaining,” Danny told him steadily, searching his eyes.

“Sorry,” Steve couldn’t help the word falling from his mouth, “I didn’t mean – ”

“Steven!” Danny interrupted him, then smiled at him, “I want this, okay? How could I not? I mean, only if you do?”

Steve stared at Danny, trying to make sense of the words Danny had just said. Then he frowned, “You want this? I mean, what about Gabby?”

Danny laughed, making Steve smile with him, but frown in confusion. Then Danny explained, “You’re asking that now? Hell Steve, we just got married,” he said with another laugh.

Steve grinned back in response, then pressed a light kiss to Danny’s mouth. Then he pulled back, “This is different though, Danny. Like you said, the wedding’s not real, but this? I want to do so many things to you, with you… Are you still seeing Gabby?”

Danny gave a minute head-shake, “No, we uh, we broke up. She’s moving to Colorado. What about you and Catherine?”

“No, we don’t… We’re not currently together, I haven’t seen her in months,” Steve tried to explain.

Danny smiled and leant up to touch his lips against Steve’s, then he pulled back out of reach, just teasing him. “Then what are we waiting for?” he murmured.

“You really want this?” Steve asked, showing a rare glimpse of vulnerability.

“Yes, Steven. Do you?” Danny asked, pushing a stray strand of hair from Steve’s face.

“God yeah,” Steve murmured, then leant down and gently brushed his lips against Danny’s. Danny opened his mouth in want, and then it was game on. 

Steve pushed his tongue into Danny’s mouth, his hands roaming over Danny’s bare chest. Danny groaned, his hand reaching up to cup Steve’s face, as his other pulled Steve’s hips closer. Steve grumbled and broke the kiss to remove his lei, then Danny’s. 

“I think we can lose these too,” Danny whispered, pulling at Steve’s pants.

Steve grinned, rolling over to shuck his pants and boxers in one move. Danny’s grin turned predatory and he rolled over to straddle Steve. He didn’t miss a beat, leaning down to capture Steve’s mouth as his hands started exploring Steve’s body. He massaged his tongue against Steve’s, grabbing Steve’s hands and pushing them above his head.

“Danny,” Steve groaned, grinding himself against Danny.

“You okay, babe?” Danny asked breathlessly.

“Don’t stop, Danny,” Steve said in between pants, “Why’d you stop?”

Danny grinned and captured his mouth again. He moved Steve’s hands so he could keep hold of them with only one of his hands, leaving his other hand free to roam Steve’s body. He would never have imagined how responsive Steve was, even the slightest touch had the man writhing on the bed. Danny’s grin got even wider and he pulled back so he could watch the other man whilst he continued exploring his body.

He hit gold when he pinched Steve’s nipple, making him shout in pleasure and jerk against him. Danny chuckled darkly, leaning forward to kiss Steve deeply, before doing the same with his other nipple. Not surprisingly, it had the same result.

“Danny,” Steve groaned breathlessly, “You’re killing me here.”

Danny chuckled again as he made his way further south. He paused as he looked at Steve’s cock, which was rock-hard and leaking pre-cum onto his stomach. “I can see that,” Danny finally responded, roughly. 

Steve grunted, then wrapped his arms around Danny and flipped their positions. “You’re overdressed,” he grumbled, proceeding to rectify the situation.

“Like I haven’t heard that before,” Danny replied, attempting to help with his de-robing.

Steve kissed a trail of kisses down Danny’s snail trail, then hovered over Danny’s body for a moment, staring at Danny’s dick.

“You know what you’re doing there, sailor?” Danny asked, with a grin.

Steve looked back up at Danny, then grinned, responding by actions, instead of words. He engulfed Danny’s cock and started playing with his balls, making Danny’s hips jerk. 

“Oh, Steve, babe,” Danny panted as Steve worked him. He placed a hand on Steve’s head and started thrusting into his mouth, “Fuck, so good.”

Steve moaned and stroked himself in time with Danny’s thrusts. Then he used his pre-cum and circled his finger around Danny’s hole. He abandoned Danny’s cock and went further south to lick Danny’s ass. Then he inserted his tongue into Danny’s hole as he spread his cheeks.

Danny groaned as Steve prepared him. He jerked himself as Steve replaced his tongue with his fingers and stretched him. 

Steve crawled up Danny’s body and rocked against him as he kissed Danny again, mapping his mouth. When they broke for air, Steve whispered, “Danny, I don’t… I don’t have any condoms.”

Danny frowned, “What are you talking about? Mr Navy-I’m prepared-for-everything ninja-SEAL doesn’t have condoms?”

“What?” Steve asked.

“Well, it’s a good thing I do,” Danny responded, then nodded to his rucksack, “In my toiletry bag. But Steve, wait a minute, I’m just…I’m just saying uh, I’m clean, okay? I have regular check-ups, had my last test a few months ago.”

“Me too,” Steve responded, searching Danny’s eyes, “Do you want to… I mean, we should – ”

“Yeah, we probably should,” Danny interrupted, with a nod.

“Just in case,” Steve added, then hopped off the bed to rummage through the bag. When he found it, he ripped open the small satchel and rolled it onto himself.

“So sexy,” Danny commented, lifting himself onto his elbows to watch.

Steve crawled back onto the bed and captured Danny’s mouth, grinning in satisfaction when it shut him up. Danny wrapped his legs around Steve, pulling him closer. He groaned when their cocks lined up, the friction felt amazing. 

Steve lifted Danny’s hips, lined himself up and slowly pushed in. Danny gasped into Steve’s mouth, pulling him impossibly closer as Steve bottomed out.

“That okay?” Steve whispered.

“It’ll be better when you move,” Danny snarked.

Steve grinned and started thrusting. He adjusted his position until Danny threw his head back and gasped, “Right there. Do it again.”

“Yessir,” Steve murmured, nibbling down Danny’s chin as he thrusted into Danny’s body, making sure to get that sweet spot.

Danny moaned and reached between their bodies to grasp his leaking cock. But Steve had other ideas, grasping his hand and pinning it above his head. Then he murmured, “That’s cheating.”

Danny grinned and tweaked Steve’s nipple with his other hand, making Steve gasp and drive himself into Danny, making him groan. He chuckled darkly and twisted Steve’s nipple, causing the same reaction.

“Do it again, and this’ll be the quickest root you’ve ever had,” Steve rasped.

“If you cum before me, there’ll be consequences,” Danny threatened with a chuckle, “And you won’t like it.”

“What are you gonna do, Danny-boy? Huh? Tie me up?” Steve asked, deliberately slowing his thrusts, but driving in further.

Danny moaned, not responding straight away as he tried to remember how to speak. He closed his eyes and gasped, his hips bucking against thin air. “No,” he finally got out, “Because I think you’d like that.”

Steve leant down to whisper in his ear, “Guess we’ll have to try it one day to find out.”

Danny racked his fingers up Steve’s back, sending shivers up his spine, “Plenty of time for that, husband.”

Steve chuckled and increased the pace at the vivid picture that came to mind. He sucked at Danny’s neck, then bit him hard enough to leave a mark.

“Animal!” Danny gasped.

“Don’t you know it,” Steve admitted, lifting Danny’s hips up further so he could penetrate deeper.

Danny groaned non-sensibly and reached between their bodies again to grasp himself. Steve tried to bat away his hand, muttering, “S’cheating.”

“Don’t care,” Danny replied, reaching again, then starting stroke himself. He groaned and fucked his fist in time with Steve’s thrusts. “I’m so close, babe, so close.”

Steve increased the pace, thrusting hard and fast into Danny’s body. “Come on, Danny, let it go,” Steve gasped.

As if Steve’s words gave him permission, Danny jerked himself faster and his hips stuttered as he came between them with a yell. As Danny recovered his breath and milked his spent cock, Steve let himself go, going harder and faster. Then with a grin, Danny reached up and squeezed both his nipples. 

Steve gave a choked off shout, his vision whiting out for a moment as he climaxed. When he was done shooting his seed into Danny’s body, he collapsed on top of the other man.

Danny let out a sigh of pure contentment and ran a hand – his clean one – through Steve’s hair. Then he moved his hand to gently stroke Steve’s back, “You okay, babe?”

“Yeah,” Steve breathed against Danny’s chest, still trying to regain his breath.

Danny chuckled, running his fingers in circles on Steve’s back. “I love you, Steve,” he whispered.

Steve’s breath caught and he glanced up at Danny in surprise, “What?”

Danny ran a through Steve’s sweaty hair, brushing it from his face, “You heard me. I uh, I mean, you don’t have to say it back to me, I just wanted to tell you.”

Steve frowned at him, then realised he needed to say something in response. The truth was, he didn’t know what his feelings were for the other man. He swallowed the lump in his throat and finally said, “Thanks. Uh, I’m sorry Danny, I don’t know – ”

“I know. It’s okay,” Danny interrupted, but he couldn’t hide the way his face fell.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you liked it! Let me know what you thought!
> 
> Thanks again to Phoebe!


	10. Chapter 10

_2 and a half months ago…_

“You okay, Steve? You seem distracted,” Catherine asked, lying beside him on the beach.

“Yeah, I’m fine, just thinking,” Steve responded, glancing at Catherine, before looking back at the water.

“Don’t hurt yourself,” Catherine told him, with a grin.

“Oh, that’s funny. Did Danny teach you that one?” Steve asked, returning the grin.

Catherine’s smile got wider, then she frowned, “What’s going on with Danny anyway? Are you two okay?”

“What are you talking about?” 

“Come on Steve, I’m not blind,” Catherine responded, making Steve feel worried. Then she continued, “I saw him the other day at Lou’s place, he barely said a word to you.”

Steve sighed and rubbed a hand through his hair, “He’s fine, Cath. He’s just got a lot on his mind.”

“What did you do?”

Steve scrunched up his face and asked, “What makes you think it’s something I did?” But Catherine just looked at him until he caved. He sighed again, “Okay, yeah, it’s something I did. Or didn’t do. I just… I don’t know what to do about it.”

“Why don’t you tell me? I might be able to help,” Catherine suggested, sitting up to watch him.

“I don’t think so, Cath,” Steve responded, glancing at her for a moment, “It’s something I need to work out for myself.”

“Well, you just let me know, okay?”

“Yeah,” Steve replied with a smile. He knew she had the best of intentions, but this wasn’t something that Catherine could fix. He didn’t even know if he could fix it.

“Maybe there’s something I can do to take your mind off it…” Catherine suggested, leaning over to put her hand on his knee, then start sliding it up his thigh.

“Yeah?” Steve asked with a smile, watching her hand disappear up his board shorts.

“Yeah,” she answered, stroking him until he was hard. Catherine looked around to make sure they had the beach to themselves, then freed Steve from his shorts and licked up his length. Then she looked up at him through her eyelashes and asked, “How’s this?”

“Danny who?” Steve croaked. 

Catherine giggled and lowered her head over him, engulfing his cock in one go. Steve gasped and bucked his hips, “Oh fuck, Cath!”

***********************

Steve sat on the couch in his boxers and pulled his t-shirt over his head, then watched Catherine coming back from the bathroom. He sighed and ran a hand over his face, bracing himself for the upcoming conversation. He knew she was hiding something from him, but he wasn’t sure what it was. He didn’t even know if he wanted to know. 

Catherine smiled at him as she started getting dressed, “Something on your mind, sailor?”

Steve sighed again, briefly sparing a thought that he was becoming more and more like Danny, more dramatic. He pushed the thought away and answered, “Why did that feel like goodbye? Did you get your orders?”

Catherine’s face fell, which was all the confirmation he needed that he was right. But she shook her head, “No, Steve, I didn’t get my orders. We’re staying in port a bit longer, but uh…”

“Is there someone else?” Steve asked, there was no bite in his words, he just needed to know where he stood. The whole thing made him feel exhausted. 

“No, Steven! What makes you think – No, there’s no one else… for me anyway,” she answered, making him even more confused.

“What does that mean?”

“Steve, what we’ve had, it’s been great, it really has – ”

“But?” Steve interrupted.

“We can’t keep doing this,” Catherine responded, “I feel like you’re putting your life on hold.”

“What are you talking about?” Steve asked, “My life isn’t on hold, Cath. This is what I want, you are who I want – ”

“Am I?” Catherine interrupted, then added before he had the chance to say anything, “I feel like you’re trying to make this something it’s not. I thought you understood what this was when we started seeing each other.”

“And what is it?” Steve demanded.

“This was never supposed to be a serious affair, Steve, it was only ever supposed to be a bit of fun. And I thought you understood that this was only temporary and would be called off if either of us ever found someone we wanted to be with,” Catherine replied.

“So there _is_ someone else?” Steve asked, but it was more of a statement.

“Steve, I’m not going to do this with you. I’ve already told you I’m not seeing anyone else, this isn’t about me, okay?” Catherine responded, then she sighed, “You’ll thank me for this one day, and I know that doesn’t make it hurt any less. But Steve… I need to break up with you. For good this time.”

Steve stared at her and was ashamed to find his eyes becoming watery, “Cath…”

“I’m sorry, Steve,” Catherine said softly, her own eyes welling up, “I hope you can understand why I need to do this.”

Steve looked away from her as his emotions started to get the better of him. He sniffed and angrily wiped away the tears threatening to fall, then he said shakily, “We had something, Cath.”

“I know, but it’s not enough,” Catherine responded quietly.

“How can you say that?” Steve asked, staring at his hands.

“Steve…” Catherine said, then stopped to wipe her eyes, “You know I’m right. We owe it to ourselves to do this.”

Steve wiped his eyes again and looked up at the ceiling. He couldn’t believe this was happening, he thought he’d wanted to spend the rest of his life with this woman. But she clearly had other ideas. “You should leave,” he told her quietly.

“Steve,” Catherine said, trying to get his full attention, but he refused to meet her eyes. She sighed heavily and got up, collecting her things. She stopped as she put her hand on the door, turning back to him, she said, “You’re going to be okay.”

But her statement was met with silence. Steve listened as the door finally closed, then put his head in his hands and wondered when his life became so complicated.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you liked it! Let me know what you thought!
> 
> Thanks again to Phoebe!


	11. Chapter 11

_2 and a half months ago…_

Steve stood at his office window, staring outside. But the view was lost on him; his mind was somewhere else. A soft knock on his office door made him turn around to see Lou. He nodded and gestured for him to come in, “You heading off for the day?” 

Lou flopped down into one of the seats and watched him for a moment, before responding, “I was, but then I thought I’d do a welfare check. What’s eating you?”

Steve sighed and sat down at his desk, “Sorry man, I’m fine, it’s just been a rough day.”

Lou snorted, “You expect me to believe that? I know you find it tough to catch up on paperwork and go through old cases, but that’s got nothing on the funk you’ve been in. Why don’t you try again, but with the truth this time?”

Steve sighed again and shook his head. He looked around his office for a moment as though searching for the right words, then finally said, “Cath broke up with me.”

Lou heaved out a sigh, “I’m sorry buddy.”

Steve nodded, “Yeah uh, thanks. I mean, she said she was doing me a favour. I don’t know, man, I just don’t know when everything got so complicated.”

“Complicated?” Lou asked with an amused huff, “This ain’t complicated, man. Painful, yes. But not complicated.”

Steve ran a hand over his face and his head again, “You don’t know the half of it, Lou.”

Lou spread his hands, “Well, I got time.”

When Steve remained silent, Lou sighed and said, “Well, you don’t have to tell me about it if you don’t want to, but at least tell me you’re talking to someone? Does Danny know?”

Steve snorted, “Nah, that’s a can of worms I don’t wanna open. Besides, he’s taken the kids to Maui for the week, I don’t wanna disturb him.”

“So, what’re you going to do?” Lou asked him, “You’re not going to work anything out by staying here, staring out the window. The answer ain’t there, man.”

“I know,” Steve responded. And he did know that, it was what he’d been thinking about before Lou had come in to harass him. “I’m thinking of heading to LA, see Mary for a bit,” he finally told him.

Lou nodded, “Sounds like a good idea. I don’t remember the last time you took a break.”

“Yeah, I think it’s time I took one, clear my head, you know,” Steve replied.

Lou smiled and stood up, “Well, you let me know if I can help, okay? I can give you a lift to the airport whenever. Just don’t forget to call Danny before you go, you’ll never hear the end of it if you leave him a note like you did last time.”

Steve snorted, “Yeah, don’t I know it.”

***************

Steve left it until the last possible minute to make the call to Danny. He was afraid that if he called earlier, the other man would only convince him to stay. But his mind was made up.

“Hey babe, did you miss me?” Danny answered the phone, and Steve could hear the smile in his voice.

“Always do. You sound like you’re having a good time,” Steve responded. In the middle of speaking, the bell went over the speaker in the airport, indicating someone would speak over the intercom. Then a lady’s voice told them that boarding for the LA flight had begun.

Danny was silent for a moment, clearly thinking over what he’d heard. “Where are you going, babe?” Danny asked, switching gears.

Steve sighed and looked around the gate, “I’m heading to LA to spend some time with Mary and Joannie.”

“That’s good, it’s uh, it’s been a while since you’ve seen them,” Danny responded, then he hesitated, before replying, “How long are you going to be there?”

“I don’t know,” Steve answered, then took a deep breath, “I need to… I need to figure some stuff out and uh, I can’t do that here.”

“Okay, well uh, I mean, you take care of yourself, okay? And keep in contact,” Danny told him.

Steve nodded, there was so much he wanted to say to the other man, but he needed to get his head straight first. “Thanks Danny, and you too,” Steve hung up and let out a breath he didn’t even know he was holding. 

His flight was called over the PA system again, telling him that it was the final boarding call. Steve gave a small nod and boarded the aircraft to start the next chapter, or even to finish the old one.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you liked it! Let me know what you thought!
> 
> Thanks again to Phoebe!


	12. Chapter 12

_2 months ago…_

“Boo!” Steve said softly, making Joannie screech in happiness. She made another peek-a-boo face, so of course Steve had to play his part.

They were strolling around the supermarket, slowly filling up the trolley. Joannie was strapped into the trolley and was definitely _not_ helping with the errand. 

Steve had slowly started relaxing over the two-week break. He hadn’t realised how wound up or stressed he was until he didn’t have any external pressures. It had been amazing spending time with his sister and his niece, just doing normal everyday things and not chasing bad guys or getting shot at. But he missed Danny. He missed him terribly. 

He hadn’t spoken to Mary about what had made him leave Hawaii so quickly, and thankfully she’d given him the space he needed, seeming to know that he’d talk when he was ready. 

“Alright kiddo, do you want plain oatmeal or oatmeal with berries?” Steve asked, showing Joannie the two boxes. But Joannie grabbed at a box from the shelf, making it fall to the floor. 

Steve dramatically rolled his eyes at her and picked up the box, “Cap’n Crunch? Don’t you think you’re a little young for this?” But all that got him was a giggle, then she tried putting her hand in her mouth.

“Oh, don’t do that. Yucky,” Steve said softly, removing her hand, then scrunching up his face at her to try to convey meaning, “Yucky.”

Again, Joannie just giggled, then made peek-a-boo face at him. Steve grinned, “You know, you’re just like Danny.”

Steve put the box back, then threw in one of the oatmeals. As he restarted the slow walk, his phone started playing a Backstreet Boys tune. He sighed and answered it, “Hey Mary.”

“Do you like your new ringtone?” she asked, and he knew she had a cheeky grin on her face.

“What new ringtone?” Steve asked, knowing it would drive her nuts thinking that her prank hadn’t worked. 

“Oh, nothing. How’s the shopping going?”

Steve leant on the trolley and tweaked Joannie’s nose as he continued down the aisle, “Joannie has the best taste in food. I let her run wild in the chocolate section, so I hope you like gummy bears. And we filled up the rest of the trolley with red cordial.”

“You wouldn’t dare,” Mary stated, but she didn’t sound 100% sure. 

“Is that… is that a challenge, Mary Ann McGarrett?” Steve asked, with a grin. If she said yes, he was prepared to turn around the trolley and do exactly that. 

“Steven! No, please don’t give her a sugar high, she takes hours to get down afterwards,” Mary replied.

Steve snorted, “Okay, promise. Hey, so I just need to get some noodles and the chicken, then I’ll make a stop to get some beer. Will Alex be joining us tonight?”

“How do you know about Alex?” Mary asked.

Steve gave an exasperated, but fond sigh, “Mary. I’m five-0, of course I know. Will he be joining us?”

“No, he had to go to Chicago for business,” Mary responded, “Just you and me, bro, and Joannie.”

“Sounds great. Okay, we’re nearly done, you need anything else?”

“Just what’s on the list, bro,” Mary replied.

“Okay, see you soon,” Steve said, then hung up.

“Boo!” Joannie said to him. Steve grinned and ruffled her hair.

*****************************

Mary came back into the lounge room and smiled when she saw Steve. He was currently sprawled out in one of the armchairs, flipping through a magazine, whilst glancing at the TV from time to time. 

He finally looked like he was relaxing. He’d been so tense when he first arrived, looking like he was carrying the world on his shoulders. But over time, he’d started to let himself just be.

“I finally got Joannie down,” Mary announced, “What’re you watching?”

Steve shrugged, “Some cop show. I topped up your glass.”

Mary curled up on the couch and raised her wine glass at her brother, “Cheers.”

Steve smiled and raised his beer, “Kāmau.”

Mary sipped at her drink and tipped the glass at him, “What does your new ink mean?”

“You wouldn’t believe it if I told you,” Steve chuckled and took a long pull of his beer.

Mary suppressed a sigh at his deflection, it was clear that whatever the case was, it was painful for him. She didn’t want to dig around what Steve didn’t want to talk about, but she wondered if he would ever talk about it if she didn’t push a bit. “Try me. It’s not as if we don’t have time,” Mary tried.

Steve played with the label on his beer bottle for so long without saying anything, that Mary didn’t think he was going to answer her. But eventually, he murmured, “I got married.”

“Married?” Mary asked, swinging her legs off the couch so she could sit up properly, “To who? Catherine?”

“No. No, Catherine and I broke up. I got married to Danny,” Steve replied, then took another long pull of his beer.

Mary couldn’t help the way her eyebrows skyrocketed into her hair line, “Whoa, okay? Timeout. You got married to Danny and you didn’t tell me?”

Steve snorted, “Are you more upset that I got married to Danny? Or that I didn’t tell you?”

“Both! Neither! I don’t know! Why didn’t you tell me?” Mary exclaimed, wondering when her brother got so dense.

“Look, it was an accident, okay? And we’re getting a divorce as soon as we can anyway. But, I mean, this is _Danny_ we’re talking about,” Steve responded, “I didn’t know how you’d take that.”

“Steven, you can’t control who you love. And if you’re at all concerned about him being a guy, then all I’m gonna say is that I’ve known you liked guys as well as girls for a long time,” Mary told him.

“You knew?”

Mary smiled, “You’re adorable when you’re confused. Yes, I did. And what do you mean it happened by accident?”

Steve started explaining, haltingly, what had transpired four months ago, then what had happened since then. When he finally stopped, he was barely holding back tears and his beer was empty.

“I don’t know, Mary. I mean, I loved Cath and I thought it was all so simple, you know? But turns out I was wrong about that. And now I have these, these _feelings_ for Danny and I’m _married_ to him,” Steve explained, not looking up from the empty beer bottle in his hand, “I don’t, I don’t even know how that happened. I mean, we were just fooling around, but I should have known that marriage is marriage.”

Mary put a fresh beer in front of him and topped up her glass, then sat down, “Well that’s generally how it works.”

Steve took a long drink of the fresh beer and shook his head at himself, “And now I’m ruining my relationship with Danny, all because I wanted to have a bit of fun. I pushed him, so he pushed back and the result was us standing, well sitting, in front of a priest and tying the knot.”

“Have you thought about why you were trying to get a rise out of him?” Mary asked, suddenly realising that her brother hadn’t figured out how deep his feelings ran for the fiery blonde detective. But it had been clear to her since the beginning that they cared for each other more than they admitted.

“He’s cute when he gets flustered,” Steve responded before his brain caught up with his mouth. Then his face went red and he turned away from her as he tried to cover it up, “I mean I – ”

“It’s okay, bro,” Mary interrupted, “Look, it sounds like you’ve still got some thinking to do. Just… be honest with yourself, okay? I think you’ll find the answer you’re looking for. And I know I’ve said it before, but you can stay here as long as you need to.”

Steve nodded, but still avoided her gaze, “Mahalo.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you liked it! Let me know what you thought!
> 
> Thanks again to Phoebe!


	13. Chapter 13

_One and a half months ago…_

Steve looked around the table again, trying to remember everyone’s name. He’d met most of Mary’s friends at one time or another over the last month, but there were a few people here he hadn’t met yet. 

They were taking advantage of the last of the warm weather and had gone to a local park for a picnic. There were maybe a dozen people, including kids, either playing ball or sitting at the picnic table, picking at what was left of the barbeque. It was nice meeting the people that Mary held close. These people were Mary’s ohana.

There was an attractive blonde-haired woman, Annette ( _Call me Annie_ ), who had been making moves on Steve all afternoon, but whilst the attention was nice, he wasn’t interested. She leant on the table, the move making her blouse open to reveal her cleavage, “So Stevie, do you have someone waiting for you in Hawaii?”

Steve found himself nodding, “Yeah, I do, it’s ah… it’s complicated.”

“She didn’t want to come here with you?” Annie asked, still studying his face.

“I didn’t ask him,” Steve shrugged, then sipped at his beer.

“Oh,” Annie said, finally sitting back in her seat and setting her shirt to rights, “You’re gay?”

Thankfully, Steve was saved from responding when his phone rang. He excused himself from the table to take the call. Caller ID said it was Danny, but he suddenly got a bad feeling about the call. He’d talked to his partner every couple of days, but it’d always been first thing in the morning or sometime in the evening, never during the day because of the time difference - and of course, the job.

“Hey Danno,” Steve answered.

“Steve, babe,” Danny said slowly, but there was something off about his voice, he sounded exhausted and stressed. It made Steve’s blood run cold, something was wrong. His fears were confirmed when Danny quickly said, “There’s three Asian male– ” he abruptly stopped talking and it sounded like he’d been hit by something.

“Danny!” Steve shouted.

“Commander McGarrett,” a voice said on the other end of the phone, but Steve didn’t recognise it, “Your team has something that belongs to us and we’d like it back.”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about, okay? I’m in LA, I can’t help – ”

“Then it sounds like you need to make some phone calls. And I hope you’re wrong, Commander, your friend’s life depends on it. I’ll call back in an hour with details for the drop off,” with that, the guy hung up and the line went dead.

Steve stared at the phone in shock, he felt numb. He couldn’t believe this was happening again. Only this time it was Danny, not his father. 

“Steve?” Mary was suddenly in front of him, looking at him in concern. It seemed to snap him out of his headspace.

He dialled Lou’s number, then said to Mary, “I need to get back to Hawaii, ASAP.”

“What?” Mary asked.

But Lou answered his phone, so Steve diverted his attention, “Lou, Danny’s been kidnapped, he’s been held by three Asian males. He couldn’t tell me anything else before they made their demands.”

Mary gasped and looked at him with an expression he wasn’t willing to analyse. She nodded and touched his arm, then went back to the picnic table.

Steve turned his attention back to the phone as Lou sighed, “I’m sorry, man, I shoulda told you.”

Steve frowned, “What’re you talking about? How long has he been missing? Do you know who has him or what this is about?”

“There’s a new gang in town, a splinter group from the Yakuza, call themselves the two-point-zero – ”

“As in, the second edition?”

“Exactly. We raided a warehouse yesterday morning, seized $5 million worth of cocaine and weapons. And nobody’s seen Danny since we left the office yesterday,” Lou explained.

Steve ran a hand through his hair, “Well, they want it back. Lou… you’ve gotta make the trade. This is Danny we’re talking about.”

“I know, I’ll get the wheels in motion,” Lou replied, “They calling you with instructions?”

“Yeah man, in an hour,” Steve responded, then checked his watch, “I’ll be there in six – seven hours tops, okay? I’ll let you know when I land.”

“What? What are you doing? You don’t need to come back, Steve, we got this,” Lou told him.

“I know you do, but I… I need to be there,” Steve tried to explain. He couldn’t explain how he felt like he was being smothered and the need to be close to Danny was like a real, living thing.

“Okay, guess I can’t talk you out of it. Tell me when you’ve got flight details, I’ll make sure someone picks you up,” Lou responded.

“Mahalo, see you soon,” Steve said, then hung up.

“Okay, Alex is going to look after Joannie, I’m taking you to the airport. Do you want to go back to the apartment first?” Mary asked as she re-joined him.

“What?” he asked, for some reason, struggling to put the pieces together.

Mary took hold of his arm and started guiding him to the car, “I think I’ll drive.”

“Thanks, Mary,” Steve replied, heading to the passenger side of the car, “And no, I don’t need anything from the apartment.”

As Mary drove, Steve searched online for a flight, but there were no vacancies until tomorrow evening. He called a couple of airlines and still came up empty. He sighed and wiped a hand over his face, trying to figure out what to do. Then he realised where he was and he smiled.

Steve scrolled through the contacts on his phone and pressed the green button when he got to the guy he needed. 

“McGarrett, how’re you going man?” Sam Hanna’s voice greeted him.

“I need a favour,” Steve responded, skipping pleasantries, but he knew the guy would understand. 

“And here I thought you were calling about that steak dinner. What do you need?” Sam asked.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you liked it! Let me know what you thought! :)
> 
> Thanks again to Phoebe!


	14. Chapter 14

_Still one and a half months ago..._

Steve allowed himself a small smile as the C17 Globemaster flew over Diamond Head and down Waikiki Beach. He was sitting in the cockpit, talking shit with the pilots. He was suddenly struck by a sense of deja-vu, the last time being when he returned home to O’ahu after 15 years, but that had been for his father’s funeral. He just hoped there wouldn’t be a repeat of that circumstance.

Chin was waiting for him as he disembarked, and his anxiety increased three-fold. Steve hadn’t heard anything from the team after he’d called through with the kidnapper’s instructions and his flight details. He’d spent the entire flight on tenterhooks, anxiously awaiting a call that didn’t come. And a look at Chin’s face didn’t alleviate his worry at all.

“Chin? Where’s Danny? What happened?” Steve asked.

“He’s at Kings, I’ll fill you in on the way,” Chin responded.

“I’ll drive,” Steve told him.

But Chin just looked at him and Steve knew he wouldn’t win this one. He jumped in the passenger side and waited impatiently for Chin to start the car. Thankfully, Chin didn’t waste any time and before he knew it, they were on their way.

“Okay, talk to me.”

“The exchange went as planned for the most part, they decided to change the rules and Danny got hurt – ”

“Hurt how?” Steve demanded, interrupting the story.

“He was shot in the leg, it hit a major artery and he lost a lot of blood before we could get to him,” Chin responded, taking Steve’s mood in his stride, “He got out of surgery about two hours ago and he’s recovering in the ICU. He’s going to be okay, Steve. He’s just a bit banged up at the moment.”

“Has he regained consciousness?” Steve asked.

“Briefly, but he’s still pretty out of it. You know what he’s like when he’s doped up,” Chin responded, sending him a knowing grin.

Steve returned the grin, thinking of how Danny was when he had painkillers. Then he sobered when the image was replaced by his injured partner, “You said he was banged up, what other injuries does he have?”

Chin glanced at him for a moment, clearly deciding whether or not to tell him. He finally reached a decision and said, “Looks like they worked him over, probably trying to get information from him. He’s got a lot of bruising on his face and torso, couple of broken ribs. They shot him in the shoulder too.”

Steve sighed heavily and shook his head. His only saving grace was that he’d jumped on a plane when he did. “At least tell me you got the guys,” he asked.

“Got one in custody, the others didn’t make it,” Chin replied.

“What a shame,” Steve muttered under his breath, but Chin heard him and shared a grin with him.

********************

Steve walked into Danny’s room and took a deep breath when he saw his partner. His face was a mess, the left half of his face was one big bruise and his eye was nearly swollen closed. His left arm was heavily bandaged and in a sling. Then there was the medical paraphernalia, which amounted to a nasal cannula, ECG wires, IV bag and oxygen saturation prong on his finger.

Steve dragged a chair over to the bed and sat down, then said quietly, “You know, if you wanted me to come back, all you needed to do was call.”

“Was afraid you’d say no,” Danny murmured back.

Steve smiled at him and picked up his hand, of course Danny was awake. The man still had his eyes closed though. “For you, Danno, I would’ve come back immediately, no questions asked. All you had to do was ask,” he quietly admitted.

Danny finally opened his eyes, squinting at him, “You weren’t ready, babe.”

Steve ducked his head and nodded, “You’re right.”

“So what about now?” Danny murmured, licking his cracked lips.

“Well, I’m not leaving again in a hurry if that’s what you mean,” Steve responded, avoiding what Danny was really asking.

“No, that’s not what I meant,” Danny replied.

Steve sighed, he’d done so much thinking whilst he was away, but he wasn’t sure where it left him. Catherine’s break up with him still hurt, but not as much as it did before. He supposed he’d known all along that they weren’t going to work out. And as for his relationship with Danny… Well he guessed it made sense that they at least tried to make it work. They were _married_ after all.

“How’d you like to go on a date when you bust outta this place?” Steve finally asked softly.

“Hmm?” Danny asked, his eyes drifting closed. He squeezed Steve’s hand and muttered, “That’d be nice.”

Steve grinned at his sleeping partner; he’d be surprised if the man remembered the conversation when he woke.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you liked it! Let me know what you thought! :)
> 
> Thanks again to Phoebe!


	15. Chapter 15

_Two weeks ago…_

Steve got out of his truck and nervously brushed himself off. He couldn’t understand why he was so nervous; it wasn’t like this was the first time he’d had dinner with Danny. It wasn’t even the first time he’d had dinner alone with him, or the first time they’d had dinner alone together at a restaurant. Although, they’d only done that once, had dinner at a restaurant; it had been the anniversary of Danny’s divorce and he’d been feeling glum. 

Now though, it was a completely different matter. This time, it was a date. He didn’t know what to expect from the night, but he wanted to make it a good experience for both of them. Steve had booked a nice, expensive, Italian restaurant. He hadn’t booked it because it was expensive though, he’d picked the one with the best reviews and this had 4.8 stars out of 476 reviews. That was a pretty good average.

He walked up to Danny’s front door and took a deep breath. He amusingly thought that he hadn’t been this nervous when he’d married the guy. He took another deep breath and knocked.

After what seemed like years, Danny finally answered the door. He was dressed in dark slacks, which hugged his ass perfectly. The light blue shirt he had on was untucked and he had two ties draped around his neck. The black sling contrasted nicely with the shirt, but was making his collar turn up where it went around his shoulder.

“What took you so long? Were you in the bath?” Steve asked, with a grin.

“That’s funny,” Danny remarked, stepping back from the door so Steve could come in, “You’ve been saving that for a while, right?”

Steve shook his head and closed the door behind him, “No, thought it up whilst I was waiting for you. Are you ready to go?”

Danny spread his hands and indicated his current state of underdress, “Do I look ready?”

“No,” Steve responded, then frowned. Danny was in a mood, or at least, working up to one. “What’s the matter, Danno?”

“Why are we doing this?” Danny asked, waving around his free hand.

“Doing what, exactly?” Steve asked, his frown deepening.

“Why are we going on a date, Steven?” Danny clarified, levelling him with an intense gaze.

Steve adjusted his stance and frowned at his partner, “I mean, usually you date a guy before you get married. You agreed to this – ”

“No, I mean, why are we doing this?” Danny asked, with a sigh of frustration.

“What? What are you talking about, Danny? It makes sense to – ”

“I don’t want you to do this because it makes sense, Steven! I want you to do this because you want to,” Danny responded, throwing his ties on the back of the couch. He sighed heavily and stared at the ceiling, “Look, why don’t we just forget it, okay?”

Steve’s eyes widened in shock and his stomach dropped, “What?”

“You heard me, Steven. I already told you how I feel, okay? I don’t want to date you because you feel a sense of obligation to make this work out. And if you can’t figure that out, then I don’t want to do it at all. I’m sorry, but I’m done hiding my feelings for you,” Danny explained.

“Danny, I have feelings for you too,” Steve pointed out, as he tried to figure out how the perfect night he’d planned had gone so wrong.

“Oh really? Okay, Steven, humour me then, what feelings are they?”

Steve stalled, trying to figure out what to say to stop this becoming more of a disaster than it already was. “I care for you, Daniel, a lot,” he finally said, but he immediately knew he’d said the wrong thing. “Danny, I – ”

“You should go, Steve,” Danny interrupted, his face carefully neutral.

“Danny – ”

“Steven! I’m telling you to go,” Danny interrupted him again, then angrily pointed his finger at him, “And don’t you dare say those words now, not when we both know you don’t mean them!”

Steve swallowed convulsively, trying to shove the unnamed emotion back to the hidden depths it came from, instead of bursting free. His eyes started to water, but he wasn’t sure why. Sure, this was upsetting, but enough for his eyes to start leaking? Not likely. He furiously blinked the water away and tried to salvage the evening. “Well, do you… I mean, do you want to just go out to dinner? I booked a nice Italian restaurant in Waikiki that – ”

“No, Steve. I just want to be alone,” Danny interrupted.

“Okay,” Steve said softly, with a nod. Then he frowned as something occurred to him, “Danno?”

“Yeah babe?”

“Are we uh, are we okay?” Steve asked, even though he knew they weren’t.

“Yeah, ‘course,” Danny lied back to him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So yes, more drama! I had all intentions of that conversation taking place half way through an awkward dinner, but Danny had other plans and was more grumpy than I originally thought he was - maybe because he had an intense PT session earlier in the day. 
> 
> But never fear, all will be right in the end. The next chapter will see this timeline catching up to the present. 
> 
> Anyway, hope you liked it! Let me know what you thought! :)
> 
> Thanks again to Phoebe!


	16. Chapter 16

_Present day. That morning…_

“What the _hell_ is the matter with you?” Danny exclaimed as he walked into the headquarters. He marched up to Steve, who was standing at the centre table, but stopped short of poking him, as he exclaimed, “You think it’s okay to just throw grenades at people now?”

“Calm down, Danny, it was a smoke grenade, and it got him outta there, didn’t it?” Steve defended himself.

“You know what else could have worked? Huh? Talking to him! Were you raised in the jungle?” Danny continued, his hands waving around more frantically than before.

“Yeah, I considered that, Daniel, but HPD had been trying to talk Blair down for an hour already. Clearly it wasn’t working! So yeah, I decided to try something a bit different. And like I said, it worked, and nobody got hurt. What’s the matter with you?” Steve responded.

“You’re an animal Neanderthal!” Danny declared, shaking his head at him.

“So uh, the marriage counselling isn’t working?” Lou asked, looking between the two men like it was a tennis match.

Danny threw his hands up in the air and muttered something unintelligible under his breath as he stormed into his office.

“Was it something I said?” Lou asked, frowning at Steve.

Steve grimaced and shook his head, “Nope, that’s all on me.”

***************************************

_Present day. That evening…_

Danny was sitting at the piano that he’d managed to find on eBay for an absolute steal. Rachel had insisted on Grace learning the piano a few months ago, so he’d bought the thing to help her practice. Amusingly though, Grace had only taken a handful of lessons before declaring that she wanted to learn to play the guitar instead. Danny had kept the piano though and had started playing it again, he hadn’t played in years, but it was the sort of thing that you didn’t forget. 

He took a sip of whisky, then put the glass back on the top of the piano. It was a bit early to indulge, but they had been busy chasing stupid people all over the island last night and hadn’t had the chance to sleep. So technically, it was actually late.

Danny started playing One Republic’s _Apologize_ , letting the melody take him away to a different place. He heard his front door open and knew it was Steve, but the man could wait. He was still pissed off at him, he wasn’t sure they could save even their friendship at this point. 

He started to softly sing as he played. He wasn’t a good singer by any stretch of the imagination, but it’s not as though he was going to try out for American Idol.

“I'm holding on your rope,  
Got me ten feet off the ground,  
And I'm hearing what you say,  
But I just can't make a sound,

"You tell me that you need me,  
Then you go and cut me down, but wait,  
You tell me that you're sorry,  
Didn't think I'd turn around and say,

"That it's too late to apologize, it's too late,  
I said it's too late to apologize, it's too late,  
Too late, oh,

"I'd take another chance, take a fall,  
Take a shot for you,  
And I need you like a heart needs a beat,  
But it's nothing new, yeah yeah,  
I loved you with a fire red, now it’s turnin' blue, and you say,  
Sorry like the angel, heaven let me think was you,  
But I'm afraid,

"It's too late to apologize, it's too late- ”

Danny mis-hit one of the keys and cringed at the sound. He sighed and ran his fingers along piano, then took the whisky from the top of the piano again.

“I didn’t know you could play, Danny,” Steve commented.

“You never asked,” Danny responded, not turning around. He took a sip of the whisky, relishing the feel of the liquid burning on its way down.

He heard Steve fidget for a moment, then finally ask, “Are you trying to tell me something?”

“Always,” Danny replied. He let the silence stretch on until it became uncomfortable, then sighed and said, “I’m not coming in tomorrow. Actually, I don’t know when I’ll be coming in next.”

Steve finally appeared in his line of vision, awkwardly standing beside the piano, “What are you talking about? Are you leaving five-0?”

Danny finally looked at his partner, ignoring how his chest ached when he did, “I don’t know, Steve. I’m just, I’m tired of all this. I’m gonna go away for a bit, get my head on straight and figure out what’s next.”

“Danny,” Steve stopped, looking lost for words. Then he bowed his head, apparently coming to grips with something, “Okay, uh, where are you going?”

Danny gave a derisive snort, “Back up the mountain.”

Steve raised his eyebrows in surprise, “You’re going back there?”

Danny nodded, “I know. I didn’t think I’d want to, but I just need some time out. And I was happy up there, you know?”

Steve gave a small nod and looked as though he was going to say something, but reconsidered it. Then he asked, “And you don’t know when you’ll be back?”

Danny shrugged and started playing the piano again, “I’ll be back when I’m back.”

Again, Steve went to say something, but stopped. He continued standing there, watching Danny for a while, then nodded to himself and quietly left.

Danny listened as the door quietly closed behind Steve. He let out a breath he didn’t know he’d been holding, he just wished that things could go back to how they’d been when they were on the mountain. Things had been so much simpler then. Well, to an extent anyway. Steve hadn’t said those three words back to him, but he’d been sure his feelings had been returned. If Steve’s actions were anything to go by, anyway.

But maybe it had been wishful thinking. Maybe he’d been hoping too hard and he’d pushed too much. He knew Steve was an emotional wreck, so maybe he should’ve just left it. He could have backed out of the wedding at any time. It’s not like he hadn’t known that there was a pretty good chance the wedding was real.

Danny abruptly stopped playing the piano and downed the rest of his glass. The temptation to drink himself into oblivion was strong, but he wasn’t a young man anymore and hangovers hurt. Instead, he picked up his phone and called his mom. He could always count on her to put things in perspective.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I swear it gets better in the next chapter! :P
> 
> Hope you liked it! Let me know what you thought! :)
> 
> Thanks again to Phoebe!


	17. Chapter 17

_Next day…_

Steve leant over the hood of Marquis and ran his fingers over one of the tubes going from the converter, trying to find the leak. He paused when he heard a car pull up outside, wondering who had arrived. He wasn’t expecting visitors today.

He stood up and wiped off his hands when he heard someone come through the front door. Whoever it was wasn’t being quiet, which meant he probably knew them. But one could never be too careful. 

He picked up his weapon and pointed it at the door, only to lower it when Joe appeared. He sighed and put the weapon back on the counter. 

“Joe, what are you doing here?” he asked.

“I could ask you the same thing,” Joe responded as he walked in and looked around the garage.

“What are you talking about? I’m having a day off, the team will call me if anything comes up,” Steve answered, putting his hands on his hips.

Joe nodded, “Okay, but what are you doing _here?_ ”

Steve frowned, “What?”

“Let me rephrase, why aren’t you wherever your husband is?”

Steve’s frown deepened, “What?”

“Don’t give me that look, son. You think you can come back from some undercover operation with matching tattoos and I wouldn’t put the pieces together? This isn’t my first rodeo. Now, answer the question,” Joe responded patiently.

Steve sighed, trying to get his head around the fact that Joe already knew. “He needs some space.”

“No son, the last thing that boy needs is space. He needs you,” Joe told him, “You need to go up there and tell him how you feel.”

“What are you talking about?” Steve asked in exasperation. He was tempted to ask Joe if he needed to sit down, because the man just wasn’t making any sense.

Joe sighed, “Okay, I’m going to walk you through this, Steve, because I think your parents could have done a better job with your emotional development. Now – ”

“Wait a minute. Did you just call me emotionally retarded?” Steve interrupted.

Joe gave a small smile and spread his hands, “Well if the shoe fits.”

“That’s funny, Joe. What are you doing here, anyway?”

“I’m trying to help you, son. Lou called me and said you needed some perspective,” Joe answered.

“Oh, not him too?” Steve asked, with a grimace.

“Well, what do you expect, Steve? You make a team with some of the best investigative minds on the island and you don’t expect them to figure this out? Now, I don’t know if they know about your wedding, but they do know that things between you and your partner have been strained since you got back from that operation,” Joe responded.

Steve leant against the car and folded his arms over his chest, “And I suppose you know how to fix it?”

“I have a good idea, yeah. Now, bear with me on this, okay? And this will only work if you’re honest. I don’t care if you lie to me, but don’t do it to yourself,” Joe began, “Why did you get married? And I don't mean whatever bullshit happened for you to stand at the alter, I mean, why did you go through with the ceremony?”

Steve thought back to the first couple of days in the camp, before answering, “Started because I wanted to get a rise out of Danny, but it ended in a case of one-upmanship and neither of us backed down.”

“Why didn’t you put a stop to it?”

“Because I didn’t think it was a real ceremony.”

“Bullshit.”

“I’m telling the truth, Joe!” Steve exclaimed, “I wouldn’t have gone through with it if I’d known it was real.”

“I don’t believe you,” Joe responded, then added, “Look, we’ll come back to that. Why don’t you tell me about why you jumped on the first available plane from LA when you heard Danny had been kidnapped? Hell, you chartered a C-17 because you couldn’t get on a civilian flight!”

“He needed my help, Joe. Of course I came back as soon as I could!”

“As I already said, Steve, you have a more than capable team, do you not trust them to do their job?”

“Of course I trust them. But this was _Danny!_ ” Steve exclaimed angrily, “I couldn’t live with myself if something happened to him!”

Joe gave a small smile and rolled his wrist as he said, “That’s good, keep going.”

“With what?!” Steve exclaimed.

Joe sighed and put his hands on his hips, “He was injured in the rescue attempt, right? How did that make you _feel?_ Or better yet, how would you have _felt_ if it had gone sideways?”

Steve was about to give a flippant response, when he started really thinking about it. He’d thought about the worst-case scenario when he’d flown back, but he’d had to put it out of his mind, because it had hurt too much. And now, Joe was asking him to look at it again.

He thought of how he would have felt if Chin had picked him up and delivered that news to him. The sense of loss he felt was inexplicable. Suddenly, his chest felt constricted and he found it hard to breath. He felt light-headed and he felt like he needed to throw up. 

“Whoa, easy there, son,” Joe said, suddenly at his side, “You’re okay, Danny’s fine.”

Steve took a deep breath, trying to ignore how much his chest still hurt when he breathed, “What the hell was that?”

Joe gave a soft chuckle and patted Steve’s shoulder, “Do I need to spell it out for you?”

“What?” Steve asked in confusion.

“You’re in love, son,” Joe responded, then at Steve’s look, he added, “I think you have been for some time.”

“Wait, with Danny?” Steve asked, then thought about it and everything clicked into place. The happiness he’d felt with just being with the man, how he loved to banter with the man, but hated it when they were having a real argument. 

The time he’d spent with Danny in the village had been the best week of his life. He’d loved how they could just be themselves, how their openness with each other was not just accepted, but encouraged. Sure, they had been trying to find a killer, but they had had so much time alone together. And it hadn’t just been about the sex, which had been amazing in its own right.

When they’d gone back to the office, it was easy to fall into old patterns. Especially when Gabby had turned up the afternoon they’d returned, and asked Danny for a second chance. Steve hadn’t realised how disappointed he’d felt when she’d shown up, but he hadn’t thought he could do anything but give Danny the silent permission he’d asked for. So he’d made a flippant excuse about Catherine returning, using an old photo of Catherine arriving so Danny wouldn’t feel bad. But looking back now, he wondered if Danny had been silently asking about their relationship.

“Oh shit,” Steve gasped, “I’m in love with Danny.”

Joe chuckled and patted his arm again, “Took you long enough to figure it out.”

Steve tried to figure out how long he’d felt this way about Danny, but he wasn’t sure. He’d felt fiercely protective of the fiery blonde detective for a long time. “Don’t know I would have figured it out without you,” Steve admitted, with a matching chuckle.

“Happy to be of assistance. Now go! You’ve got somewhere to be,” Joe told him, half pushing him towards the door.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This one just wrote itself, I think I made Steve more of an emotional retard than he'd normally be, but it made the story make more sense. I feel like he'd probably catch a clue earlier...
> 
> Anyway, hope you liked it! Let me know what you thought! :)
> 
> Thanks again to Phoebe!


	18. Chapter 18

Steve urged the horse to gallop faster. He felt a keen sense of urgency to get to Danny as soon as humanly possible and to declare his love for him. They’d already waited too long for their happy ending – pun not intended, or maybe he meant that too.

He slowed the horse as he got to the top of the ridge, then slowly made the way down the ridgeline to the camp below. He jumped off the horse and went to the hut that Blake (the guy who’d met them six months ago) had come out of last time. Steve only had to knock once before the man answered the door. 

Blake gave a small smile, but frowned when he saw Steve, “Aloha, Steve right? It’s been a while.”

“Yeah, six months. Hey, my husband, Danny, said he was coming up here. Where is he?” Steve asked.

Blake shook his head, “We don’t like to get involved in dom- ”

“No, it’s not like that,” Steve interrupted and tried to explain, “It was a misunderstanding, I – ” Steve started, nearly kicking himself for his choice in wording. He tried again, rephrasing what he needed to say, “I let Danny believe something that wasn’t true, but only because I believed it.”

Another man approached as he talked and as he got closer, Steve realised it was Nate, “Hey Steve!”

Steve turned towards him, subconsciously rubbing the horse’s mane as he moved, “Nate, where’s Danny?”

Nate sighed, “You shouldn’t be here, man. Danny was pretty upset when he arrived.”

“I know, I made a mistake. A big mistake,” Steve admitted, “Please, just tell me where he is so I can make this right.”

Nate studied him for long enough that it made Steve feel like he was going to say no and turn him away. That thought made Steve’s chest constrict in pain. He didn’t know what would happen if he left here without telling Danny how he felt, but he knew it wouldn’t be a good thing. No, he had to make this right.

Eventually, Nate found what he was looking for and nodded, “Okay. He’s down at the waterfall. Here, let me take your horse, I’ll look make sure it’s looked after.”

Steve breathed a sigh of relief and handed over the horse’s reins, “Thanks, I owe you.”

“I know,” Nate responded.

Steve nodded, then took off to the path down to the waterfall. He ran as fast and far as he could before he had to slow down to navigate the trickier parts of the path. It still took far longer than he would have liked. By the time he finally got to the opening at the bottom of the path, he was drenched in sweat, but it didn’t matter because he finally laid eyes on his partner. 

Danny was sitting on a rock next to the small pool, paddling his feet in the water. The board shorts and casual t-shirt made him look relaxed, but Steve knew better. 

Steve cautiously approached him and tried to figure out how to say what he needed to say. He didn’t want to think about what would happen if he got it wrong. 

“What are you doing here, Steve?” Danny murmured, without taking his eyes off the water, “I said I needed to get away from you for a bit, this is the opposite of that.”

“I know,” Steve responded, then sat beside him and watched the waterfall. He tried not to think about the last time they’d been down here, it would only distract him from his current mission. “But I realised I made a mistake letting you go in the first place,” he admitted.

“What are you talking about? It wasn’t your decision to make, Steven, it was mine,” Danny replied, finally looking at him.

“Sorry, I didn’t mean to sound so possessive. I just… I drove you away. You wouldn’t have had to leave if it wasn’t for me,” Steve told him, “What I’m trying to say, Danny, is I love you.”

“Steven, we’ve talked about this, I told you not to say it unless – ”

“I do mean it! Danny, just hear me out, okay?” Steve started, but he wasn’t sure how to continue. How was he supposed to tell Danny that he didn’t know that he loved him, and that it took Joe’s help to even figure it out.

“Here’s the point that you actually explain, Steve. You need to form words for this to work,” Danny coached him.

“That’s funny, Danny,” Steve deadpanned. He took a deep breath and tried again, “Look, I didn’t know, okay? I think I’ve loved you since the first time you got shot – ”

“That was on the first day we met, babe, and it was your fault,” Danny interrupted.

Steve paused for a moment and realised it was true, “Yeah, I guess.”

“And what do you mean you didn’t know?”

Steve gave a wry grin, “Joe told me.”

“Joe told you?!” Danny exclaimed, “He told you what? That you loved me?”

Steve nodded and gave a small chuckle, “Yeah. I mean, he led me to that conclusion yeah. I mean, I was terrified when you got abducted, but I just, I didn’t want to analyse it.”

Danny shook his head, “Jeez, you really do have the emotional maturity of a 12 year old.”

“Yeah, thanks Danny, Joe called me emotionally retarded too,” Steve responded.

Danny laughed, “Well he’s not wrong. I mean, it’s like emotions scare you, they’re not the enemy, Steve. They’re not going to kill you if you allow yourself to feel them.”

“You’re wrong, Danny. I’ll have you know, the Navy Land Warfare Doctrine lists emotions as weapons; they should be disarmed and checked at all times,” Steve tried to say seriously, but he couldn’t help a small grin appearing through. 

Danny shook his head, “You’re such an idiot.”

“Yeah, but you love me for it,” Steve stated, but it was more of a question.

Danny smiled and squeezed his knee, “Yeah, I do.”

Steve returned his smile, “Thanks Danno.” Then he sobered and let out a sigh, “But Danny, I seriously do love you. The week we spent here six months ago; it was the best week of my life. I loved just being with you – ”

“And the mountains of mind-blowing sex,” Danny interrupted, with a grin.

“Well yeah, that too, the sex was amazing. But you know, it wasn’t just about that, Daniel. I mean, you know that day we went on that long hike with Callum?” Steve asked.

“Yeah, we figured out he doesn’t know anything,” Danny replied, “And I have the blisters on my feet to prove it.”

“Yeah, we were so tired that night, we just made out and snuggled. That night was great, I loved just holding you, Danny,” Steve told him.

Danny smiled at him, “Well, you know, if you still want to, you can hold me now.”

“Yeah?” Steve asked, feeling strangely vulnerable.

“Come here, you big oaf,” Danny responded, waving him over.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So this chapter was originally about double/triple the length, so I had to divide it into two. Hope it's still okay.
> 
> Hope you liked it! Let me know what you thought! :)
> 
> Thanks again to Phoebe!


	19. Chapter 19

Steve smiled and sat in behind Danny, so Danny was sitting in between his legs. He wrapped his arms around the other man and snuggled his face into the crook of Danny’s neck. He breathed in deeply and pressed a kiss on Danny’s skin.

“Oh babe,” Danny murmured, turning his head so he could catch Steve’s lips.

Steve opened his mouth, letting Danny’s tongue explore his. But Danny shortly turned his head back as the angle became awkward. Steve sighed in happiness and began working on Danny’s neck again, licking and nipping his way down.

“And here I thought you just wanted to hold me,” Danny muttered, baring his neck for him.

“Mmm,” Steve agreed, pulling Danny’s body closer and letting his hands ride up Danny’s shirt, “I’ve missed this.”

Danny hummed in pleasure, “You’re overdressed.”

“Mmm. What’re you going to do about it?” Steve asked, realising belatedly that he was still in his clothing from when he’d been working on the car. Which meant that he wasn’t just overdressed in his jeans, white t-shirt and navy over shirt, but the clothes were more than a bit grubby.

Danny turned around and quickly divested him of the shirt, throwing it over his head. 

“Hey, what’re you doing? That’s my only shirt,” Steve grumbled when the shirt landed in the water.

Danny stared at him, “What’re you talking about? You didn’t bring a change of clothes? How long did you think you were going to stay here?”

“I only have what I came in,” Steve replied, “I was more interested in getting here than anything else.”

Danny chuckled, “Well, you didn’t think that through, did you?”

Then before Steve could answer, Danny pinned him down. He captured Steve’s mouth whilst his hands went under Steve’s t-shirt, making Steve moan into Danny’s mouth. Danny leant back enough for Danny to slip Steve’s t-shirt over his head. Then he started running his hands up and down Steve’s chest.

Steve gasped and bucked against Danny’s body. He caught one of Danny’s hands and guided it to his crotch, rubbing through his pants. But Danny moved their hands again, pushing them above Steve’s head. 

Danny ran his hands over Steve’s chest, relishing how sensitive his skin was. His touch alone had raised goose bumps all over Steve’s chest and he arched against Danny touch as though starved of touch. He lightly traced Steve’s tattoos, making him shiver and pant against Danny’s mouth.

“Oh god, Danny,” Steve gasped, “What’re you doing to me?”

Danny grinned and flicked his tongue over Steve’s nipple, making him gasp harshly. Then he lightly bit at it, causing Steve to buck his hips and shout out. Danny chuckled; he’d turned Steve into a quivering mess. He had an evil thought and grinned at it. Some would call it payback for what Steve had put him through for the last few months.

He slowly kissed down Steve’s body, unbuttoning and unzipping his pants and pulling them and his boxers down to his ankles. As he crawled back up, he took off his own t-shirt and licked his lips. Steve was hard and leaking against his stomach, the very picture of anticipation. 

Danny hovered over Steve’s body, then quickly took off his own board shorts. He leant down and captured Steve’s mouth, rocking himself against Steve. It felt amazing. But now was the time to put his evil plan into action. He grinned against Steve’s mouth, then quickly stood up, turned around and dove into the pool.

When he surfaced, he couldn’t help laughing loudly when he saw Steve. The man was desperately trying to take off his boots so he could get his clothing off and follow Danny into the pool. 

***************************************

“Prick,” Steve swore again, finally getting his kit off and following Danny into the water. The other man had disappeared behind the waterfall, so Steve followed. He found Danny in the cave behind the waterfall, staring at the rockface. 

Steve pressed himself against Danny’s back and looked over Danny’s shoulder to see what had captured his attention. ‘S & D’ was etched into the rock, surrounded by a love heart. Steve had put it there on a whim, the day before they’d left the last time. And then he’d made sweet, sweet love to Danny. 

It put a whole new meaning on the phrase _The writing was on the wall_. But really, Steve should’ve realised his feelings for Danny when he’d written it. He just hadn’t wanted to analyse why he’d done it at the time, he’d been too busy feeling to figure out what he was feeling.

“Bringing back good memories?” Steve asked huskily, hugging Danny’s body closer to his. The movement made his cock slip between Danny’s cheeks and nudge at his entrance.

Danny pushed his ass back, making the tip of Steve’s cock push even more firmly against Danny’s hole. Danny gasped and pulled Steve’s head down to devour his mouth. Then he pulled back enough to say, “God, Steve, I need you to fuck me.”

Steve breathed out shakily, then spat on his fingers and roughly prepared Danny’s hole. His mouth barely left Danny’s as he got him ready and by the end, it was hard to tell who was more needy. Finally, he replaced his fingers with his cock, pulling Danny tight against his body to get the deepest penetration.

Danny moaned and started jacking himself, losing himself in the sensations. Steve took that as his ticket to thrust hard and fast into his partner – his husband. Neither of them were going to last long. It had been too long since they’d connected in this way. 

Danny gasped, then braced himself on the rockface and pushed his ass out. Steve grinned and took hold of Danny’s hips, adjusting his angle until Danny shouted, leaking pre-cum onto the floor of the cave. He continued hitting that spot and was rewarded with continuous moaning from Danny, punctuated by louder tones when he thrust in.

“Steve,” Danny gasped, and that was the only warning he got before Danny shouted his name and came in pearly white spouts all over the rock face.

Steve thrust into Danny harder, then followed him over the edge. He came with a harsh gasp, his hips stuttering as he came deep inside Danny’s body.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you liked it! Let me know what you thought! :)
> 
> Thanks again to Phoebe!


	20. Chapter 20

_8 days later…_

Steve looked at the people gathered in his backyard. His ohana. He still didn’t know what to say to them, but his husband had volunteered to say the words. The man certainly had a way with them. 

He waited for everyone to mostly finish the food, he couldn’t let the barbeque go to waste after all, before getting everyone’s attention. They all turned to him, and he wasn’t sure if it was a trick of the light, but he was certain that they all already knew what this was about. He pushed the thought away as he said, “Okay everyone, listen up. I’m sure you’re all wondering why you’re here, we uh, we have an announcement to make – ”

“Babe,” he was suddenly interrupted by the fiery blonde at his side, “I thought we agreed I was going to do this, hmm?”

“You are, I was just prepping them,” Steve answered.

“Yes, well you nearly just told them,” Danny responded.

“No, I was leaving that to you,” Steve argued, then mock-bowed and waved his hands, “Over to you, red leader.”

Danny just shook his head, “You’re a moron.” Then in a louder voice, he said, “As Steve so eloquently put it, yes we have an announcement. Some of you may remember that Steve and I went on an undercover operation just over 6 months ago, what you don’t know is that we got hitched.”

For a moment, there was a noticeable lack of a reaction. Then Lou very deliberately put on a surprised face and said, “Oh, you’re married? All this time, whoa, that’s – ”

Whatever he was going to say was lost as everyone started making surprised noises and talking at once. Steve exchanged a glance with Danny, then asked Lou, “Wait, you knew?”

“What’re you talking about? I don’t know what you’re talking about? What makes you think – yes, we knew,” he finally capitulated, then gave a chuckle, “I mean, come on. You two came back with matching tattoos and you were finishing each other’s sentences – I mean, more than usual. It wasn’t hard to figure out. We got worried there for a while though…”

“Yeah, brah, you two okay?” Chin asked.

“That was his fault,” Danny responded, pointing his finger at Steve, “But yeah, we figured some stuff out.”

“That’s why we stayed on the mountain this last week,” Steve added.

“We decided to start dating, see how that goes,” Danny told them.

“And we’re not getting a divorce,” Steve added.

“See what I mean?” Lou asked, looking back at the rest of the group as he gestured between them.

“Congratulations,” Kono said with a big smile, lifting her beer bottle at them.

“Yeah, congrats,” Chin added, saluting with his beer.

Steve spied Catherine make an entrance to the gathering, then hang out with Joe. He waited until everyone was done offering their congratulations before heading over and saying hi. Catherine watched him approach and moved a suitable distance from Joe so they could have a private discussion.

“Hey,” he said as he approached.

“Hi, you’re looking well, Steve,” Catherine told him, with a genuine smile.

Steve winced, “Look, I’m sorry I didn’t say anything sooner.”

“You don’t need to apologise, Steve. I knew you loved Danny from the moment I saw the two of you together, I didn’t realise that you didn’t know though. But anyway, that’s why I had to break up with you. I knew that you wouldn’t realise what you felt for Danny if you still thought we had a future,” Catherine tried to explain.

“I guess I should be thanking you,” Steve responded.

“I told you you would,” Catherine told him, smiling at him, "So, you're going to stay married?"

Steve nodded, "Yeah, see how we go. I mean, we couldn't get divorced for another 6 months, even if we wanted to. But we'll give it our best shot, move in together, you know, those kinds of things. If we're still going strong, I don't know, maybe we'll... renew our vows, or something. I'd like to put a ring on his finger, you know? And I think Danny would like some big affair with all of his family."

Catherine chuckled, then she looked at Danny, “He’s good for you, Steve. He’s a keeper, you need to hold on to him.”

Steve followed her line of vision and found Danny smiling at him. The smile did all sorts of things to his insides, and he didn’t need to analyse them to know what they meant. He grinned back, “Yeah, I know. And I will, believe me.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> FIN!
> 
> Hope you liked it! Let me know what you thought! :)
> 
> Thanks again to Phoebe!


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